Force of a Slayer
by Draco Tamer
Summary: She understands the weight of having a destiny, that is why they chose her. She must help him, and those around him, understand. She must help him choose, love over power, trust over jealousy. He is destined for darkness, can she help him find the light?
1. Far, Far Away

A/N- Ok, so I hope you all like Buffy/Star Wars crossovers because that's what this is. I don't know a whole lot about the Jedi, I mean, anything in this is going to either be based off the movie or from my own imagination and some stuff I've gotten from Wikipedia (Very cool site, really good for back-story research). So bear with me, if I get anything horribly wrong, let me know, I'll try to fix it.

This starts at the end of season seven in the Buffy verse and the beginning of Episode Two in the Star Wars verse. I hope you like reading it, because I had a lot of fun writing it.

Oh, and may the force be with you:-)

Chapter One -o- Far, Far Away

She was almost there. She could see the light streaming through the hole they had all come through. She was merely a few feet away from it. She put her hand on the edge to lift herself out and-

"No!" she screamed as something grabbed her ankle and pulled, hard. She pulled back determined to get out, determined to make it to back to the surface. Then another one grabbed her and pulled; now she was having trouble getting a grip on the edge to pull herself out. She could feel herself being dragged back into that hell again. She struggled and pulled but she could feel herself begin to slip, but at least her family had made it out, most of them.

They had her trapped, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. She could usually take on a good number of them but fifteen against one was pushing it a bit. Though it was taking seven of them just to hold her down, a fact that she took momentary pleasure from. But the pleasure didn't last long as seconds later there was a piercing pain in her neck, then in her shoulder and arm and all over. She tried to block the pain, she tried to comfort herself with the fact that her friends were safe, they had gotten out in time. The dim light surrounding them began to grow, getting brighter as it covered more ground, seeming to encompass everything.

The uber-vamps began to back away, but it was too late, as the light touched them they burst into dust. She put her hand to her throat but knew, for her too, it was too late. 'I don't want to die,' she thought as her breath wheezed in and out. She would miss so much, her friends and her sister. 'I don't want to go,' she thought as the light engulfed her. 'I want to live' was the last thing she thought before the light overtook her and her eyes fluttered closed.

-o-

When she came to everything was light, she was bathed in it, filled by it. She could remember feeling like this once before in her life, like she was awash in pure light. It was then that the realization struck her - she was dead, again. She closed her eyes and tried to block the light but it was still there, it was everywhere. Then she heard it, faint at first, so low she couldn't make out the words. Then it got louder and louder till it was almost deafening, a voice that came from everywhere and nowhere.

"You were The Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy The Sith, not join them! It was you who would bring balance to The Force, not leave it in Darkness!"

She swung around looking for the owner of the voice but there was no one there, no one anywhere. She put her hand to her head as her vision swam, she closed her eyes again and this time the light receded, turning to darkness. She felt very hot all of a sudden, almost like she was standing in the middle of a fire. When she opened her eyes she found she almost was standing in the middle of a fire. There was fire everywhere around her and she was standing on the bank of a river of fire, or of what looked like fire, liquid fire.

"Lava." She spoke out loud for the first time as she took in the scene unfolding in front of her. Off in the distance, about 75 feet in front of her, there were two people fighting. Lights flashed and swung through the air and collided with each other like swords and she wondered where she was. No place in Sunnydale, no place on earth, looked even remotely like this. The only word she could think to describe it was hell, that's what this looked like to her, hell.

"It's over, Anakin! I have the high ground!" she heard someone say and wondered who he was; it was the same voice as before, she was sure of that. There was so much grief in his voice, so much pain and regret it was almost tangible. She could make out only a little about either of them, but she could see one was wearing a light brown and one was all in black.

"You underestimate my power!" the one in black said and she could hear the arrogance in it. She could tell he had no hope of winning whatever battle they were waging. Who were these people, and why was she being shown this?

"Don't try it," she heard the one in brown say, heard the pleading in his voice. She had to see who these two men were and took a step closer, but she didn't go anywhere. She watched in horror as one of them leapt high into the air and the other's light flashed. The younger one fell to the ground, beaten.

"You were The Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy The Sith, not join them! It was you who would bring balance to The Force, not leave it in Darkness!" She heard him yell again and wondered what that meant, the 'chosen one'. She was a 'chosen one' but didn't think it was the same thing. As these thoughts filtered through her mind everything around her started to fade, she could no longer hear or see them, then suddenly she was bathed in the light again. She looked around in a panic, where did they go?

"Wait!" she called out, spinning around, looking for the two men. "What happened?" she demanded of whoever was controlling things.

"He'll die," a voice told her and again she looked around for the source of the voice.

"Why?" She pleaded with it, still looking but not expecting to find anything, not really. She knew when she was being spoken to by the PTB.

"It is his destiny," the voice spoke. Buffy could hear the regret in his voice too and frowned. She really, really hated that word.

"That's not fair," she told him. "He should be able to choose."

"He did choose," the voice told her and as Buffy listened she realized she recognized the voice. "He chose wrong. He chose power over truth and strength over love."

"Has this happened yet?" she asked, knowing he'd know what she meant. Maybe there was something that could be done to save him.

"No," the voice said and Buffy began to see the way this conversation was going to go. She also realized she recognized the voice now. She'd only ever heard it once, but it was hard to mistake, even when he was trying to cover the accent.

"Then there's still time, he could be saved," she yelled out to him, a slight smile on her face. She was sure it was possible, everyone deserved a second chance.

"You're so sure?" he asked her and she nodded. "Ok, then we are leaving him to you." She nodded her head, a little suspicious of him. "You will help him choose; maybe you can change the outcome of this young man's life."

"Ok" She said tilting her head. "But do you mind coming down and talking? This whole omni-competent God act doesn't suit you Doyle."

"Ah!" There was a slight chuckling sound all around her, then the air shimmered and Doyle was standing there in front of her, looking just like she'd seen him the first time at Angel's.

"They don't have any better clothes in heaven?" Buffy asked looking him over.

"Aw, well." He shrugged and Buffy smiled.

"What about my family?" she asked, catching him off guard. "I can't just abandon them."

"Your family will prosper," he told her with certainty putting his hands into his pants pocket. "Your sister will never be chosen, but she will help those who are. When she is 23 she will fall in love and by the time she's 26 she will have her first daughter. None of her children will ever be chosen. Your friends will all live long happy lives. They will mourn you and then move on, fighting in your name." She nodded her head and a small smile pulled at her lips. It was as if he'd memorized it from a script.

"I did," he told her, startling her now. "Had to get it all right."

"You can read my mind?" she asked and he smirked, nodding his head. "That's a little creepy, Doyle."

"What can I say?" he asked, rocking on his heels now. It still sounded as if he were trying to cover up his accent.

"Doyle I know it's you, you can use your accent," Buffy said, wishing she could sit down. A table and chairs appeared and she smiled. She sat down and so did he.

"Oh right," he said, shaking his head. "Sorry 'bout that, they didn't want you to know who it was, and having only met me once they figured, well anyway…" His voice rang with the accent now; sometimes so thick Buffy almost couldn't understand him. It made Buffy smile as a bottle and two glasses appeared in front of them.

"I didn't do that," she said, looking to the glasses.

"I did," he told her, pouring them. "Need a drink, you know?"

"Yeah," Buffy said taking the glass from him. "So, my family will all be ok?" she said, mostly to herself, not really expecting an answer. "So what is it you want me to do?" she asked, thinking of the young arrogant man. "How can I help him?"

"Lead him," Doyle told her, shrugging his shoulder. "Help his master help him, and help his master understand."

"Understand what?" she asked, confused. Doyle smirked and Buffy knew it was no good to ask.

"That," Doyle said, taking a drink, "is for you to figure out."

"What do I do for the younger one?" she asked, knowing it was futile to pursue the matter, but she had to at least ask.

"Help him understand, help him find the right path," he said vaguely and Buffy rolled her eyes. 'That was helpful,' she thought, drinking too.

"Where will I be going?" she asked, thinking again that there was no place on earth like the lava one she had seen.

"To a different dimension," Doyle told her, standing up and walking a little ways away. "One that is in desperate need of help."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Are there any catches?" she asked, looking skeptical; had to be sure, you never knew with the PTB. Doyle turned around and smiled at her.

"No," he assured her, and the smirk was back. "If you agree to go you will wake there with all your powers and strengths, plus something extra."

"Something extra?" she asked, looking suspicious. But again knew it was useless to ask about it.

"It won't harm you," he assured her and Buffy nodded. She knew he wouldn't lie to her, she didn't know why but she was sure of it. "You must have them to be able to help."

"Ok," she agreed, after a few moments of thought. She downed the rest of her drink and looked back at Doyle. "I'll do it."

"Ok," Doyle said walking back towards her.

"So when do wweee..." her voice trailed off as the light around her started to dim. She had a fleeting feeling of panic then she knew no more.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"What was that?" Anakin asked as a bright light they had seen flash in the east began to fade. Obi-Wan looked towards the fading light and stood from his seat on the grassy hill. He looked down at Anakin and Anakin stood up too.

"Let's go find out," Obi-Wan said looking back to the east.

"Yes master," Anakin said nodding his head. Finding out what that flash of light was had to be more exciting than sitting there doing nothing, as they had for the last two hours. Well, they had been meditating, but this had to be far more interesting. They were just here as a stopover on their way back to the council. As they climbed over the hill they both caught sight of what looked to be a woman lying on the forest floor, naked.

"Master?" Anakin said looking over at Obi-Wan. "Is that..."

"I do believe so," he said, nodding his head. "We should hurry," he said looking back down at the poor woman. They both ran down the hill towards the woman lying on the ground. When they got closer it was apparent that she was still breathing. And when they were a few steps away she rolled over onto her back, her arms stretched out at her sides, and they both stopped. She sat up with her back to them and they both tried to avert their eyes.

"Willow?" she murmured, reaching up to shield her eyes from the sun. It was then that she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes. She drew her knees up to her chest and took a deep breath trying to calm herself.

"Madam?" Obi-Wan asked, drawing her attention to him. She turned around slowly to look over her shoulder but as soon as she saw them she jumped up and landed on her feet in a fighting position.

"We mean you no harm," Anakin said not taking his eyes off of her face. Obi-Wan whipped his cape off his shoulders and handed it out to her. She looked from him to the cape and back again and relaxed, but only slightly. He tossed the cape at her feet and she looked down at it.

"We aren't going to hurt you," Obi-Wan assured her looking down at the cape. "And we can't really talk if you aren't wearing any clothes." She bent down to pick the cape up, keeping her eyes on them the whole time.

"Well this turned out to be more interesting than I thought it would be," Anakin said in a voice so low Obi-Wan almost missed it. "Who do you think she is?"

"You could ask her," she told him, rising up and putting the cape around her shoulders pulling it tight.

"How..." Anakin looked over at Obi-Wan who looked a little surprised as well.

"The name's Buffy," she said, pulling the cape around her a little tighter. She just watched them as they watched her and she smiled. "And you are?"

"I am Obi-Wan," Obi-Wan introduced himself then looked at Anakin. "And this is Anakin."

"Did you say Anakin?" she asked, taking a step towards them. This couldn't possibly be the pair she saw fighting by the lava river; they looked like brothers, not bitter enemies fighting to the death. But...he did sound just like him. And she could see, they did look a little like the two fighting. But she had been too far away to make out any details.

"I did," he said, nodding his head. "How did you come to be here...?"

"Naked?" she finished for him, smiling. "I'm not sure exactly." She thought it best not to tell them where she came from, didn't want them thinking she was crazy, at least not till they got to know her. "The last thing I remember I was fighting..." She trailed off and looked down at her hands. Did they have vampires here or uber-vamps for that matter? "There was a flash of light and then here I was, naked."

"Where are you from?" Obi-Wan asked. They were still at least ten feet apart.

"Sunnydale," she told him, a smirk on her face as she looked them both over. "Though I'm sure you've never heard of it."

"I have not, no." He looked over at Anakin who shook his head. "Is it on the outer rim?"

"Um...no, not really." She looked around the forest and shivered a little. "Look as fun as it is being out here in the cold forest, naked, is there somewhere we could go? Somewhere where there might be clothes?"

"Of course," Obi-Wan told her, nodding his head. "How foolish of me." He looked back over his shoulder. "We are staying just a short distance from here." He looked back at her. "I'm sure there would be something suitable for you there."

"Ok," she agreed, nodding her head. As he turned, Buffy caught sight of a small metal tube hanging from his belt. She followed behind them listening to their low whispers. She didn't tell them she could hear them but she had a feeling they knew. She was watching them closely. Trying to figure out what was going to happen to them. How could they go from this easy comradeship to fighting by a river of lava? As they climbed over the small hill a rather large house came into view. This must be where they were staying, it was a huge house but it looked very loved, there were flowers all around it and trees that must be hundreds of feet tall.

"Hey, I have a question," Buffy called, catching up to them a little. Both men turned to look at her. "Where are we?"

"We are on the planet Alderaan," Obi-Wan informed her, still trying to figure out where 'Sunnydale' was. "This is the summer home of a friend," he said; there was a smile on his face, but there was something else, something Buffy couldn't identify. Buffy nodded her head and looked around the area a little more. It looked an awful lot like earth to her, maybe some place like Montana, not that she'd ever been there, but this is what she imagined it looked like, or close to it.

"Where did you say you were from?" Anakin asked over his shoulder as they walked towards the front door. Buffy thought about this for a second.

"Um...Sunnydale," she told him, smiling. Anakin just nodded his head as Obi-Wan opened the door and led them inside. She caught the look that passed between them and wondered what they were thinking.

"Our friend should have something you could wear, shall I show you the way?" Obi-Wan asked, looking back at her. She thought it was very funny how neither of their eyes ever left her face. How very unlike the men, or demons, she knew, except for Xander, he was usually very respectful. Usually.

"Could you? That would be great." She looked down at herself. It was a little cold in this house.

"This way." He gestured her up some stairs. Half way up he stopped and turned around. "Anakin would you have the droid make something to eat?"

"Yes master," Anakin said, nodding his head and disappearing behind a door as Buffy followed Obi-Wan up the stairs. 'Master?' Buffy wondered as Obi-Wan lead her down a hall. 'Was he some kind of slave?'

Buffy looked around the house as they walked in silence. It was so beautifully decorated; 'someone very important must live here' she thought as they passed pictures of people all with smiles on their faces.

Obi-Wan stopped in front of a door and looked over at her. She smiled at him and he blinked; he looked a little taken aback. He looked back at the door then opened it. Buffy followed him in after a few seconds, she had been a little surprised by the sensor doorways. He walked over to a closet and opened the door, manually, Buffy noted, smiling. Buffy walked over to him and looked inside and then back at him.

"Dresses?" She sighed, looking back inside the closet. "It's all dresses," she said, mostly to herself. She reached in and pushed a dress back. "It's all dresses?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

"I don't know, it's--"

"Never mind." Buffy smiled at him, he had just taken her off the street, well kinda, and was giving her clothes, she should be grateful. It didn't take her too much digging to find something. "This'll work," she said, pulling something from the closet. She stepped back and closed the doors. Obi-Wan looked at the clothes in her arm and wondered what it was.

"You mind?" she asked, looking at him funny. "I mean I know you've seen me naked already but..."

"Oh!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. He turned around quickly and faced the wall. Buffy took off the cape and laid it down on the chair by her. For a second she just looked at the outfit trying to understand how it went on; it took her about five minutes but she did eventually get it on. She looked down at herself and sighed, not something she would have normally worn but it wasn't bad, good fit, not bad for fighting in, should she need to.

"Ok, I'm dressed," she announced, holding her arms out. Obi-Wan turned around and Buffy smiled. "So how does it look?" She asked turning around. She had on a long black body suit that fit her like a second skin, almost a little too tight. Over it she had a long black robe that had silver trim on the edges.

"You look fine," Obi-Wan said, turning to the door. "Should we see what Anakin has for us?"

"Sure," Buffy said, looking down at herself again. 'Just fine?' she thought, a little disappointed. She walked up next to him and smiled up at him. She was going to need to get some information on these two; how was she going to help Anakin if she didn't know anything about him? As they walked down the stairs something on Obi-Wan beeped and he stopped walking long enough to pull it out. He looked at it and back at her. He looked a little concerned.

"Something wrong?" she asked. He shook his head but Buffy noticed he walked down the stairs a little faster. Something was wrong, something he wasn't telling her. Not that she blamed him, he had only just met her.

"Anakin?" Obi-Wan called, walking through the door Anakin had earlier.

"Yes master?" Anakin answered, standing up. There were cups of what looked like tea on the table and some kind of fruit in a bowl.

"We'll be leaving in the morning," Obi-Wan told him, looking over his shoulder at Buffy. "There's been a problem in the capital and we're needed in Coruscant."

"All right," Anakin said, nodding his head. Buffy noticed a look of apprehension passed over Anakin's face; she also noticed the look didn't go unnoticed by Obi-Wan. "What about her?" he asked, looking to Obi-Wan's right, talking about her as if she wasn't standing right in front of him.

"We'll take her to Breha," Obi-Wan told him. He looked down at her and smiled. "She is a close friend and you will be safe there."

"Wait!" Buffy said, looking from Obi-Wan to Anakin and back again. "I don't even know her, I barely know you," she said, thinking fast; she had to stay with them. "You can't just leave me here."

"You will be fine here," Obi-Wan told her with certainty. Buffy wanted to argue, she wouldn't learn anything with this Breha women, but she knew that would do her no good. She'd have to find a way to go along with them, with or without their permission.

"Fine," she agreed, nodding her head. She had all night to figure out a plan, she was sure she could come up with something before morning.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Five hours later found the two men sleeping in their rooms while Buffy was stuck locked in her room. She tried not to be insulted by the fact that they locked her in but she was having trouble with it. Besides, how was she supposed to learn anything locked up in her room? She walked over to the panel on the wall by the door and stared at it. She pushed a few of the buttons in no particular order and waited. Nothing happened, so she tried again. After about thirty minutes of this she got so frustrated she slammed her fist into the panel and felt a little shock. Then she heard a noise and looked over to see the door had slid open.

'Ok,' she thought, walking quietly through the door. 'When in doubt, smash.' She smiled to herself. It sounded like something Faith would say. She stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath, she would mourn for her friends later, right now she had to find a way to follow these two.

She walked up to the door she knew Obi-Wan was sleeping behind and jumped back when the door opened with a small 'whoosh' sound. At the moment it didn't seem at all odd to her that she knew just which room was his when she'd never even been in the house. She looked at the bed, it looked like he was sleeping.

'Quiet,' she thought, tiptoeing into the room. Very quietly so as not to wake him she walked over to the bed and made sure he was asleep. When she was sure he was sleeping she turned to the chair by the bed and saw the metal tube on his belt again. She looked between him and the belt then smiled. She reached out and lifted the metal tube thing off his belt and walked over to the window with it. She turned it in her hands, looking for a button or an 'on' switch. She found three different buttons near the end with the hollow part. She wondered what they did. After a few seconds she decided which one looked most like an 'on' button and pushed it.

A millisecond later there was a 'shush' sound and a long glowing rod was coming out of the hollow end. It was the sword things she had seen the two of them fighting with. Buffy studied it turning the blue blade in her hand right and left, getting a feel for it. It had a good weight, well-balanced, she liked it.

"So it's like a sword," she whispered to herself.

"Yes, it is." Buffy jumped and almost dropped the light blade thingy. She turned around and came face to face with a very much awake Obi-Wan.

"I could have dropped it," she scolded him, a slight glare on her face. He had on what looked like some kind of pajamas, a short sleeve undershirt and some kind of cotton pants.

"You could have hurt yourself," Obi-Wan said, giving her a stern look.

"If you'd made me drop it, for sure," Buffy said, nodding her head. He reached out his hand for it and Buffy sighed.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, handing it over to Obi-Wan. He stopped mid-reach and looked at her curiously. "What?" she asked, confused by the look on his face.

"You don't know what this is?" he asked, finally taking it from her and turning it off. 'Every one knew what a lightsaber was,' he thought, looking her over again, what wasn't she telling them?

"No," Buffy said, shaking her head, getting the feeling that was the wrong answer. She could see from the look on his face that this was a very odd thing for her to not know.

"Do you know who carries these?" he asked, sure she would know he was a Jedi. Even Anakin way outside of the republic had known about the Jedi.

"Um...should I?" Buffy asked, as she silently cursed Doyle. He couldn't have given her a little bit of background information?

"I think we need to have a talk about where you come from. Where is this Sunny-dale exactly?" he asked, never taking his eyes off of her. She hated that look, that was the I-totally-don't-trust-you look.

"You won't believe me," Buffy told him, sighing at the doubtful look on his face now.

"This is probably true," he agreed, nodding his head. He nodded towards the door and started out. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It was almost five hours later when Buffy was finishing her tale. She told him all about her life in Sunnydale, and how she wasn't from this place or time. She told him about being a slayer and having a mystical key for a sister. She explained about all the things she had done and all the things she had killed. She also told him how she got here, though she left a few things out.

"I still don't understand why you're here," Obi-Wan said, taking a sip of his tea and watching her expression change.

"The Powers, they gave me a choice, I could come here and...help. Or I could go on to heaven," she told him. She had explained to him what the Powers That Be were.

"Heaven is..."

"The good place we go when we die," she explained again, smiling at him. She wondered if this place had a concept of heaven and hell. It must though, there was almost always good and evil, and wasn't that all heaven and hell came down to?

"What are you meant to help with?" he asked, standing and walking towards the window, wondering if he believed her; her story was farfetched and very outrageous. He didn't feel she was lying, but, he had found, she was very hard to read at all.

"I...well...I can't tell you," she stammered, standing too. "I...um...well, I know some things, about your future. I can't tell you though 'cause, well, 'cause I'm not supposed to." Doyle had never told her specifically not to tell them, but she was sure this was something he shouldn't know. Not if she was going to try and stop it from happening.

"You have knowledge of our future?" he asked, turning to look at her. He tried to cover the look of shock on his face but Buffy caught it. She nodded her head and hoped he believed her.

"Master Yoda can see things, sometimes," Obi-Wan told her, walking over to her. 'Yoda, who's that?' Buffy wondered as he watched her. 'And there was that word again, Master, maybe a title then?' she thought. "But the dark side clouds his vision." He eyed her carefully and then nodded his head. Buffy still had no idea what he was talking about but she smiled at him anyway. "I believe you, for now," he told her briskly, walking over to the stairs. "You should go back to bed; there is still time before first light. We will leave in the morning."

"We?" Buffy asked, smiling at him. She stood up and walked over to the stairs as well. "I'm coming with you?"

"You are," Obi-Wan assured her, nodding his head. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed, almost as if remembering something he had forgotten. Then he walked over to her. "May I have your arm?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Um...ok," she said hesitantly, holding out her arm to him. He took her elbow with one hand and pulled something out with the other. He pushed a small device to her arm and it pinched her.

"Ow!" she cried, pulling her arm back when he let her go. "What was that?"

"I'm checking something," he told her, pulling something else from his robes. He put the pinchy thing into the other thing and waited a few seconds. Then there was a small beep and he pulled the pinchy thing out. He looked down at the other thing and shook his head.

"You didn't tell me about the sword thingy," Buffy said, confused by the look on his face. What had he just done?

"We have much still to discuss," he informed her, turning to face her. "I will tell you on the way."

"The way to the capital?" she asked, smiling at him again.

"Yes," he agreed, a small smile playing at his lips. "On our way to the capital."

"Ok," Buffy agreed, heading up the stairs. "Then I'm going to go sleep."

"I'll see you in a few hours," Obi-Wan said and watched her race up the stairs. He looked back at the device he held in his hands and sighed. Her Midichlorian count was 9,700. High enough that the council would have found her had she been in this, what had she called it, dimension? He would have to take these findings to Master Yoda, see what he thought of all this.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Ok, when you said we were going to the capital, I thought you meant on that planet," Buffy said, looking around the ship they were now on.

"No," Obi-Wan told her, shaking his head. "The capital is on Coruscant." Buffy rolled her eyes and tried to avoid looking out the windows at the black space. 'Ok,' Buffy thought, looking down at her lap. 'Of all the things I've done and seen I never thought I'd be adding space travel to that list.' She looked up as a shiver ran through her. Was it really cold in here or was it just her?

"Are you cold?" Obi-Wan asked, sitting down next to her. He handed her a cup of what she had decided was their version of tea.

"Freezing!" she chattered through her teeth. Obi-Wan nodded his head and stood up. He walked over to a cabinet, opened it and pulled out a blanket.

"Here." He unfolded it and handed it to her. She smiled up at him as she reached for it. She pulled it down around herself and Obi-Wan sat back down, across from her now.

"So you gonna tell me about your glowy sword now?" Buffy asked, looking down at his belt. He nodded and pulled it from his belt. He turned it on and it swooshed out, Buffy noticed there was a low buzzing sound coming from it.

"This is a lightsaber, and I am a Jedi." He had half expected some kind of recognition at the words 'lightsaber' or 'Jedi' but got nothing more then a nod.

"So, what's a Jedi?" She asked the obvious question.

"A Jedi is a person with a high Midichlorian count, trained by the Jedi council," Obi-Wan said, turning off the lightsaber. Buffy hoped the Jedi council was nothing like the Watchers Council; she opened her mouth to ask something but he had anticipated her next question and continued. "Midichlorians are microscopic life forms that live within all living things. That is to say, they form a symbiotic relationship with all living things, forming a link to the force. Without them, life could not exist."

"So they live in you?" Buffy said, half understanding, half confused. This was all so new to her. She was used to things living off of others, but it was never in a good way.

"Yes," Obi-Wan affirmed, nodding his head. "They connect us to the force."

"What's the force?"

"The force is also in all living things, and the Midichlorians help us to communicate with the force, so we can work with it."

"What do you mean 'work with it?'" Buffy asked, not understanding anymore.

"All Jedi have fast reflexes, they can do things, are faster and stronger than normal people." Buffy smiled, now that sounded familiar. "But by learning to work with the force we can manipulate the Midichlorians, get them to work with us. And, it seems, you have them too."

"Midichlorians?" Buffy asked surprised, but only a little. That must have been what Doyle was talking about, the 'something extra.'

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. He was trying to hide it but Buffy could tell he was a little surprised by this.

"Does that mean I get to be a Jedi too?" she asked, smiling at the idea; she thought she could master one of those lightsabers pretty easily. It couldn't be much different from a sword right?

"No," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. Her smile fell and he went on. "Had you been here as a child, the council would have found you and trained you, as it is you are too old."

"Too old?" Buffy asked, shaking her head. Well, that was fine, she could do all that stuff without being trained. She'd need to learn how to use the lightsaber, but she could do that on her own as well. Buffy decided she should find out what was going on at the capital.

"So what's at the capital?" she asked, pulling the blanket around her; space, she found, was very cold.

"An old friend," Obi-Wan said with a smile on his face. He looked towards the front where Anakin was flying and sighed.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Buffy smiled as Anakin fidgeted as they rode up in the elevator. He took a deep breath then let it out in a whoosh and did it again. Obi-Wan kept looking at Buffy in the reflection in front of him on the elevator doors, then at Anakin. He looked a little perplexed.

"Are you going to tell this council who I am?" Buffy asked, after the third time she saw him looking at her in the reflection. She wasn't sure she liked all these people knowing her story, things could get bad if people knew she was not of this universe.

"They'll know, I won't have to tell them."

"They'll be able to tell, just by looking at me?" Buffy asked in shock. Well they must be pretty powerful.

"You will see," he said, looking over at Anakin again. "You seem a little on edge, Anakin."

"Not at all," Anakin said, shaking his head. Neither of them believed it, but only Obi-Wan seemed to know why he was on edge.

"I haven't felt you this tense since we fell into that nest of gundarks," Obi-Wan said, smiling over at him. Buffy wondered what a gundark was, probably not something whose nest you wanted to fall into.

"You fell into that nightmare, Master, and I rescued you, remember?" Anakin said and Buffy could feel some of the tension ease away. Buffy snickered and Obi-Wan nodded his head.

"Right," he said, laughing a little with Anakin and again Buffy wondered what could happen between these two that would cause the scene she had seen on the banks of that lava river. "You're sweating. Relax. Take a deep breath," he said, looking at Anakin.

"I haven't seen her in ten years, Master," Anakin said and Obi-Wan nodded his head and Buffy wondered who 'she' was.

"She's not the Queen anymore, Anakin," he said, putting his hand on Anakin's shoulder.

"That's not why I'm nervous," he said, shaking his head. Buffy could see in the reflection in the glass doors both Obi-Wan and Anakin, so when Anakin looked straight ahead Buffy saw something on his face, in his eyes, it was longing. And then she understood the tension, Anakin liked who ever 'she' was, a lot.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Buffy hadn't really been expecting anything when they walked out of the elevator and into the lavish room, but if she had been it would not have been the tall floppy eared thing that came walking towards them. She took a step back when he...it...whatever saw them and started jumping up and down in excitement.

"Obi! Obi! Obi! Mesa sooo smilen to seein yousa. Wahooooo!" It obviously knew them or at least Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan's smile was tight and Anakin looked as if he was dealing with a small child.

"It's good to see you, too, Jar Jar," Obi-Wan said, smiling at him. Buffy stayed a distance away as Jar Jar looked around, his eyes landing on Anakin.

"...And this, I take it, is your apprentice... Noooooooo! Annie? Noooooooo! Little bitty Annie?" He shook his head as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. Buffy could tell by the look on Anakin's face that he did not like the nickname Annie. " Noooooooo! Yousa so biggen! Yiyiyiyyi! Annie!!"

"Hello, Jar Jar," Anakin said and then was almost immediately pulled up into a huge bear hug.

"Shesa expecting yousa. Annie... Mesa no believen!" he said, as he set him down on the floor. His eyes finally landed on Buffy and she smiled uncertainly at him.

"Whosa thisen?" Jar Jar asked looking at Obi-Wan; he seemed very excited at the idea of meeting someone new.

"This is-" Obi-Wan stopped short. He didn't really want to introduce her with the name she had given, it was strange, even by a Gungan's standards. "Mara Salin," he said, smiling at her. She didn't even blink at the new name.

"Nice to meet you Jar Jar," Buffy said, smiling at him and holding out her hand. He took her hand in both of his and shook hers hard.

"Yousa too," he agreed, nodding his head, his ears flopping back and forth. "Shesa is thisa way," he said, leading them towards closed doors. He opened it and walked in without knocking and the three of them followed after him. Buffy noticed that Obi-Wan looked back at her twice as two people walked in off a balcony into a small living room. The girl, not much taller than Buffy, had a long dress on and an odd head piece; Buffy had seen dresses like that in the closet before on Alderaan. The man was tall and had an eye patch that made Buffy think of Xander. She took a deep breath as the woman smiled at them. Obi-Wan bowed as she walked towards them.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, M'Lady," he said and Buffy could see that Obi-Wan had some kind of affection for her, not anything romantic, just, very friendly. Her eyes traveled from Obi-Wan to Anakin and they lit up.

"Annie?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice. Buffy could see Anakin was holding back a wince at the nickname; Buffy could see why. If this was 'she' then of all people he wouldn't want her to call him that. "My you've grown," Padme said, smiling at him. Buffy smirked as Padme's eyes traveled the length of Anakin's body, but no one else seemed to notice.

"So have you, grown more beautiful, I mean. And much shorter, for a Senator." Anakin smiled at her and Buffy tried to hold down the smirk. This was definitely 'she', and Anakin liked her, as much more than a friend. Buffy looked to Obi-Wan and was surprised by the disapproval on his face.

"Oh Annie, you'll always be that little boy I knew on Tatooine," Padme said, laughing lightly. Buffy seemed to be the only one who noticed the embarrassed look on Anakin's face. Buffy was starting to feel invisible till Padme's eyes fell on her.

"I'm Mara," Buffy said, cutting in-between Obi-Wan and Anakin since neither of them was in much of a hurry to introduce her.

"A Jedi?" Padme asked, a small smile on her face.

"No I'm-"

"Just some extra security," Obi-Wan interrupted Buffy, smiling at Padme. Buffy nodded her head and watched as Padme looked to Obi-Wan again.

"I don't need security, I need answers," Padme told them and Buffy could see that though she wore a dress and seemed purely fluff she was a very strong willed woman. "I want to know who's trying to kill me."

"Our presence will be invisible, M'Lady, I can assure you," Obi-Wan assured her, his voice smooth as he smiled at her. Buffy could see he was good at this.

"And we are grateful of it," the man with the eye patch said, stepping forward. "I'm Captain Typho, head of Her Majesty's security service. Queen Jamillia has informed us of your assignment. The situation is more dangerous than the Senator cares to admit."

"We will find out who's trying to kill you Padme, I promise," Anakin said, as they walked over to the couches.

"We will not exceed our mandate, my young Padawan learner!" Obi-Wan turned to scold Anakin. There was a moment where their eyes met and Buffy wondered what was being said between the two of them, then Obi-Wan turned back to look at Padme.

"I meant in the interest of protecting her, Master, of course," Anakin said almost sulkily, looking sideways at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan was obviously not buying it. Buffy continued to watch as Obi-Wan looked at Anakin; a look passed over his face that Buffy knew well, though she'd never seen it from him. It was a look she used to get from Giles, a look that said 'Why oh why was I cursed with this difficult disobedient slayer.' But, just like Giles, she could see the affection under the look, and knew that Obi-Wan just wanted Anakin to do well.

"We will not go through this exercise again, Anakin. And you will pay attention to my lead," Obi-Wan told him, looking to Anakin again. Buffy could feel the frustration rolling off of him and was sure everyone else could feel it too.

"Why?" Anakin asked and the look on Obi-Wan's face was that of shock and anger.

"What?!" Obi-Wan cried looking sharply at Anakin. The embarrassment on Anakin's face was instant and he tried to recover quickly.

"Why else do you think we were assigned to protect her, if not to find the killer? Protection is a job for local security... not Jedi. It's overkill, Master. Investigation is implied in our mandate," Anakin explained, looking from Obi-Wan to Padme and back again. Obi-Wan took a deep breath then looked over at Anakin.

"We will do exactly as the Council has instructed, and you will learn your place, young one." The scolding tone was there still, but there was a little bit of amusement under the words and Buffy smiled a little. She could tell there was great affection between them. Something horrific must go wrong to cause that scene at the lava river.

"Perhaps with merely your presence, the mysteries surrounding this threat will be revealed," Padme said as she stood up with a small smile on her face. "Now, if you will excuse me, I will retire." She nodded at them then walked away towards a door in the back of the room. Buffy looked between the two men and sighed, this was going to take some work.

A/N- Ok, so what do we think? Is it any good? Should I continue? Will Buffy be able to save Anakin or is he doomed to walk the dark path? Let me know, reviews make the heart grow fonder.


	2. Starting Out

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Chapter Two -o- Starting Out

"So how many planets are there?" Buffy asked a half an hour later as she, Obi-Wan and Anakin sat on the couches. Buffy noticed Anakin's eyes drifted to Padme's door more than once and it made her smile. Why didn't he just say something to her? And why did it seem to bother Obi-Wan so much?

"Far too many to be counted," Obi-Wan told her, taking the tea from a droid, well at least that's what Anakin had called it; it looked like a garbage can on wheels to her. Buffy looked down at the cup in her hands and decided she needed a little more information here or she wasn't going to be able to help.

"What's a Sith?" she asked after a moment of silence. Another moment of silence met her question and Buffy began to worry a little.

"How is it that you have no knowledge of a lightsaber or the Jedi yet you know of the Sith?" Obi-Wan asked, setting his tea on the table in front of him.

"I don't know or I wouldn't have asked," Buffy explained, knowing that was not what he meant but she hoped he might overlook it. He sat forward so his elbows were resting on his knees and sighed.

"The Sith, in essence, are users of the dark side of the force, they-"

"There's a dark side?" Buffy asked, looking between the two men. Did that mean there was a light side, which of course all went back to the good against evil thing? Obi-Wan gave her a look and she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, go on."

"They are guided not by the will to do good, but by the pull of power. They let their anger and greed overpower them," Obi-Wan explained it to her.

"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering," Anakin said speaking up for the first time in quite a while. "Master Yoda was the first person to tell me that, a very long time ago."

"So what, you have no fear?" Buffy asked, not really understanding. No one could be totally fearless, that didn't make any sense. Even she, a very powerful slayer feared things. This whole thing was beginning to scare the shit out of her.

"Being afraid and giving into that fear are two very different things," Obi-Wan told her, a small smile on his face now.

"Ok, that makes more sense," Buffy said, nodding her head as she leaned back on the couch. "So, are there a lot of these Siths?"

"Only two," Obi-Wan told her, shaking his head. "A Master and an apprentice."

"There are only two of them?" Buffy asked, a little surprised. She had been sure there must be a great army of them. "You don't know who they are, right? Or who the apprentice is, that must make your jobs a little harder."

"Yes indeed," Obi-Wan said, standing up and looking down at the two of them. "I'm going to go check in with Captain Typho. Stay here and watch over Padme." He said the last part looking at Anakin.

"Yes Master," Anakin said, nodding his head once. Obi-Wan smiled at them then turned and walked out the door. Buffy looked across the table to Anakin. He looked a little bothered and Buffy wondered what was wrong. His eyes drifted back to Padme's door again and then quickly away.

"A Jedi shall know no anger, nor hatred, nor love," Anakin whispered, so quietly that no normal person would have heard him. Buffy was a little taken aback by this. No love? Was that why Obi-Wan looked so disapproving of Anakin's feelings towards Padme? That seemed silly though, how could a person go through life without knowing any kind of love?

Abruptly Anakin stood up and walked over to a monitor behind them where he could see into Padme's room. He shook his head then walked over to a large window. Buffy watched him as he stared out the window. How was she going to help them? She didn't even know where to begin. Slowly thinking things over, Buffy stood and walked towards Anakin. This whole 'no love' thing bothered her. She knew what having no attachments could do to a person. Without her friends fighting by her side she would have been gone a long time ago. She smirked when she passed by the monitor, it looked like Padme had covered the camera with something. She could feel Anakin stiffen when she came up next to him. Did he not trust her or was it something else? She had to help him see that love was a good thing, maybe that was where this whole problem started.

"How much has Obi-Wan told you about where I came from?" she asked, finally looking up at him. He continued to stare out the window.

"Everything," Anakin said, finally looking down at her for a moment before looking back out the window. "You are an enigma, from another, dimension, I believe he called it. He said you are a warrior of the light." Buffy could see that while Anakin didn't distrust her he didn't really trust her either. Well neutral was ok, but if she was going to help him she was going to need to get past that.

"In my world I was a slayer, I fought back the forces of darkness. In my world we also have a kind of council. They were the Watchers Council, and as far as I can tell it was very similar to your Jedi Council. Girls around the world that had the potential to be a slayer were taken from their homes, from their families and brought up by a Watcher. Someone who trained them and helped them, not unlike your Masters and Padawans." Buffy stopped for a moment, unsure how to go on. "These girls are brought up to believe that being a slayer is the only thing worth living for. They are ready and willing to give their life for the cause." Anakin looked over at her, a somewhat understanding look on his face.

"I was fifteen when the powers chose me to be the next slayer." Buffy looked away from him and out to the city, so many lights, so much life. "But I had slipped through the cracks; I had grown up with a family, with my mom and sister. So when I got the power I had to hide it from them. From everyone. Because my Watcher told me they'd be safer that way. But then something happened. A few of my friends from school found out what I was, and you know what? They wanted to help, they wanted to fight by my side. And I know, without a doubt, I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for my friends, for the people I loved." Buffy looked at him now to see if she was making any kind of an impact.

"So you went against your Council's orders? You had people you loved?" Anakin asked, now looking out the window too. There was a bit of wonder to his voice and Buffy smiled.

"I did," Buffy told him, nodding her head. "And I'd do it again; the people I loved, they kept me sane, kept me grounded. Without them, I would have been lost." Buffy turned, so her whole body was facing him now. "The important thing to remember is that you have to trust people, you have to help them enough so they can take care of themselves, and then you have to understand that sometimes the people you love are going to get hurt, and sometimes... sometimes they're going to die." Her voice hitched a little on that last word and she took a breath. "But you have to be stronger than the pain. You have to remember that you'll see them again."

They both stared out the window for a long moment. Anakin seemed to be thinking things over in his head. He kept looking at Buffy then over his shoulder at the door to Padme's room. Buffy could understand why the Jedi didn't want to become attached to people. Buffy had seen firsthand what can happen when an emotionally unstable person with great power loses someone they love.

"Why are you telling me this?" Anakin asked, finally turning so he was facing Buffy.

"It needed to be told," Buffy told him, a small smile on her face. "The Jedi have their rules for good reasons, I'm sure." She took a deep breath and reached out and put her hand on his arm; he didn't pull away or stiffen up, and Buffy smiled. "But over the years I have learned one very important lesson, there is nothing in my world or this one stronger than trust and love." Buffy removed her hand and they both turned back to the window.

They stood there for a long while, both thinking about love, though in very different ways. Buffy was missing all of her family and hoping that everything was going ok for them. Anakin was thinking about Padme and wondering if there was any way she was feeling the same things he was and what they were going to do about it if she was. Both of their heads swiveled to the main door though seconds before it opened. Buffy could feel the tension drain out of Anakin when Obi-Wan walked in.

"Captain Typho has more than enough men downstairs. No assassin will try that way. Any activity up here?" he asked, looking to the two of them.

"Quiet as a tomb. I don't like just waiting here for something to happen to her," Anakin said, looking from the door to Obi-Wan and then out the window again. Obi-Wan looked at the monitors to the left of them then back at Anakin.

"What's going on?" he asked, a little surprised that he couldn't see into Padme's room. Buffy snickered at the look on Anakin's face as he shrugged.

"She covered the cameras. I don't think she liked me watching her," he said, a slight smirk to his voice.

"What is she thinking?" Obi-Wan asked, looking from the two of them to the door to Padme's room.

"She programmed Artoo to warn us if there's an intruder," Anakin said, looking from the door to Obi-Wan. Buffy walked back over to the monitors as Obi-Wan and Anakin began to discuss politicians, well discuss as in argue about. She smiled down at the blank screen; she wouldn't want people watching her every move either. She turned to the men when she heard the word 'politician' and wondered who they were talking about.

"I've observed that he is very clever at following the passions and prejudices of the Senators," Obi-Wan told Anakin, a slight frown on his face.

"Who?" Buffy asked and both men turned to look at her; surprise was written on both their faces, as if they'd forgotten she was there. They seemed so at ease with each other, something must happen, something soon, which would change that. Whose side would it come from, Anakin's or Obi-Wan's?

"Chancellor Palpatine," Anakin explained, walking towards her a little. "He's..." His eyes flicked to the monitor and then back to Obi-Wan.

"I sense it too," Obi-Wan said as they both rushed Padme's door. Buffy was quick to action as she ran into the room seconds after them, but not quick enough it would seem. There was a loud crash as Obi-Wan jumped through the window and Anakin looked to Padme. Buffy saw Obi-Wan zip away on some kind of a droid and hoped he had a firm grip.

"Stay here," Anakin told Padme running right past Buffy. Buffy smiled at Padme then rushed out the door after him. Buffy was running next to Anakin in a matter of seconds. He looked over at her and she could see he was thinking about telling her to stay here too.

"Don't even bother," Buffy called. He nodded his head and Buffy smiled, a little surprised that he hadn't at least tried. She followed his lead all the way to a hangar and jumped into a yellow speeder with him. He pulled back and was out the door within seconds.

"What happened back there?" Buffy called over the noise of the busy lines of traffic.

"Someone is trying to kill Padme," Anakin explained to her as he zoomed in and out of the traffic. "This time the bounty hunter is trying Kouhuns, a very poisonous animal."

"Oh," Buffy said, holding onto the side of the car as Anakin rocked to the left. She was quiet for a moment.

"Obi-Wan is going to be ok, right?" she asked, as concern spread through her.

"Yes," Anakin assured her as he flew through the night sky. "Obi-Wan is very capable of taking care of himself."

"Not if he falls from that droid thing," Buffy said, mostly to herself. Anakin looked back and she followed his eyes just in time to see Obi-Wan land on the back of their speeder. She scooted to the side and watched as Obi-Wan climbed into the speeder, sitting in the middle.

"Having fun?" she asked, wondering just what the hell he had done. Had he fallen from the droid? They were lucky Anakin had gotten under him in time. Obi-Wan looked at Buffy oddly then turned his eyes to Anakin.

"What took you so long?" Obi-Wan demanded, looking at Anakin as he weaved right then left, just barely missing the back of a very big ship.

"Oh, you know, Master, I couldn't find a speeder I really liked, with an open cockpit... and with the right speed capabilities... and then you know I had to get a really gonzo color..." Anakin smirked and Buffy tried to hold back the laughter. Anakin had quite the sense of humor, hopefully that would help in all of this.

"If you'd spend as much time working on your saber skills as you do on your wit, young Padawan, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman," Obi-Wan said, looking a little pale as Anakin swerved to the right just missing the laser fire headed their way. The bounty hunter they were following was now firing on them.

"I thought I already did." Buffy could hear the humor and sarcasm in his voice as he smiled and then pulled up.

"Only in your mind, my very young apprentice." Obviously Obi-Wan had missed the sarcasm. "Careful! Hey, easy!" he said and Buffy could see he was holding onto the front of the speeder harder than she had been.

"Don't like flying?" Buffy asked as he watched the laser fire fly over their heads.

"I don't mind flying...but what he's doing is suicide!" Obi-Wan yelled. Anakin smirked then took the speeder up then back down twice, he was a little erratic, but they hadn't been hit, by laser fire or another speeder. And he was doing a very good job of staying right behind the bounty hunter they were following. Buffy could now clearly see the speeder they were chasing. Up ahead of them a ways there were two tall towers about a hundred feet apart and as their quarry flew in-between them he shot at one of them causing blue lightning-like stuff to shoot in-between the towers.

"What's that?!" Buffy yelled seconds before they flew through them. The jolt was unlike anything Buffy had ever felt, not really painful, but not very pleasant either.

"Anakin! How many times have I told you to stay away from the power couplings! Slow down!" Obi-Wan yelled as the blue light faded from their bodies. Buffy had to agree with him on that one, that was not something she wanted to do again.

"Sorry Master," Anakin yelled, clearly not very sorry. Buffy smirked, this guy reminded her of herself when she was younger so much it was a little scary. Buffy watched as the bounty hunter's speeder took a nose dive between two buildings and disappeared. She was a little shocked when Anakin pulled up.

"Where are you going?!" Buffy demanded at the same time as Obi-Wan. Anakin smiled at both of them as Obi-Wan continued. "He went down there, the other way."

"Master, if we keep this chase going, that creep's gonna end up deep-fried. Personally, I'd very much like to find out who in the hell he is and who he's working for... This is a shortcut... I think," Anakin said, speeding through a small tunnel. Speeders passed by them at high speeds and Buffy didn't blame Obi-Wan for not liking flying.

"Well that's comforting," Buffy said sarcastically, looking across Obi-Wan at Anakin. Anakin just glared at her as he turned right then left and stopped, hovering about sixty feet off the ground, they sat there waiting for a few seconds.

"Well, you lost him." Obi-Wan said shaking his head.

"I'm deeply sorry, Master," Anakin said, sounding a little bit sorry this time. Buffy watched as he looked around them. She saw a spark of excitement in his eyes and watched as he started to count to himself.

"Well, this is some kind of shortcut. He went completely the other way! Once again, Anakin—"

"Excuse me for a moment," Anakin said, leaning over the side of the speeder then jumping out. Buffy watched in shocked horror as his body disappeared.

"I hate it when he does that," Obi-Wan said, scooting over so he was now in the driver's seat.

"Does he do it often?" Buffy asked, looking over the side of the speeder as Obi-Wan set off after Anakin.

"Often enough," Obi-Wan said. They had a little maneuvering to do weaving in and out of traffic but it didn't take them long to come up behind the bounty hunter's speeder. Buffy watched as Anakin was thrown around on the back of it, which did not look like much fun.

"Ok, I hate this," Buffy said, mostly to herself as they watched Anakin slide down the ship till he was almost hanging off the back of it. He pulled himself up and climbed quietly to the top. The bounty hunter's speeder braked hard, throwing Anakin forward. Buffy waited to see him falling towards the ground but didn't. She smiled when she saw him trying to pull himself back up. The bounty hunter began to try and shoot at Anakin but he got back to the top of the speeder, without being hit. They were now driving as Anakin and the bounty hunter sped through the traffic. Buffy was sure Anakin was going to get hit by one of the other speeders and winced when one came uncomfortably close to the top of his head.

"Agreed," Obi-Wan said, watching as Anakin finally got his lightsaber out and started working on making a hole in the roof of the speeder. A flash of light shot up through the roof of the speeder knocking Anakin's lightsaber out of his hand.

Buffy watched as it flew back towards them; she reached up to try and catch it but she could see she was going to miss the saber. She got up onto her knees a little unsteadily and reached up farther but it was no use, she wasn't going to reach it. She watched as it flew over her head.

"No!" she yelled, reaching out for it. She watched in shock as the lightsaber stopped its flight then flew back to her slowly, landing softly in her outstretched hand. She pulled her arm in slowly. She was in awe of what she had just done. She didn't think it would really work. She hadn't really thought anything beyond not losing the lightsaber.

"Wow," Buffy whispered, looking down at the lightsaber. She looked up at Obi-Wan who had stopped and was staring at her. "Did you see that?"

"I did," he said dryly. There was no awe in his voice but Buffy could see he was a little shocked.

"What does it mean?" she asked, looking back to the lightsaber.

"I don't know," he told her, looking away. He started off again and it took them only a few seconds to get back behind the bounty hunter. Obi-Wan was almost just as fast a flyer as Anakin, he was just, not as scary. Obi-Wan refocused on Anakin and his struggle to stay on the speeder; Anakin was a good twenty feet ahead of them now.

"No," Obi-Wan said shortly, slamming on the brakes as traffic around him suddenly grew thick. Buffy watched the speeder for a moment before it disappeared. He looked around but it was no use, they had both lost sight of Anakin.

"Shit!" Buffy said shaking her head. Obi-Wan looked over at her oddly then they both looked up at the loud 'crash', then there were sounds of people yelling.

"Ah, there he is," Obi-Wan said, pulling up out of the traffic. Obi-Wan landed the speeder very close to the now crashed speeder and looked at Buffy.

"Could you see that no one's hurt?" he asked as he hopped out of the speeder and tore off after Anakin.

"Sure," Buffy said to the air as she climbed out of the speeder. It didn't take Buffy long to find that there was no one hurt. A few people stopped her to ask what was going on, but she didn't know what to tell any of them, so, she lied. It only took her a few seconds time to decide to go after Obi-Wan and Anakin. She hadn't really seen which way Obi-Wan had gone but found it was easy to track him down, and that scared her a little. She saw as he and Anakin pulled a body out of some double swinging doors.

"Gees I miss all the fun," she said as she ran over to them. She stopped just to Obi-Wan's right by his shoulder and looked down at the woman they had caught.

"Who hired you?" Obi-Wan asked, lifting her head up a little so she could see better. Buffy could see the hate very clearly in the woman's eyes and shivered, man these two made enemies fast, she'd fit right in.

"It was just a job," the bounty hunter said, shuddering a little.

"Who hired you? Tell us!" Anakin was on the verge of shouting at her.

"That Senator's gonna die soon anyway, and the next one won't make the same mistake I did..."

"No, they'll make all new ones," Buffy lamented and both Anakin and Obi-Wan looked up at her for a moment.

"This wound's going to need treatment," Obi-Wan said, looking back at the woman. It was then that Buffy saw the woman was missing an arm. 'Wow,' she thought, looking down at the stump which had once been an arm, 'did the lightsaber do that?'

"Tell us... tell us now!" Now Anakin was shouting, and drawing a little bit of attention to them. The woman shot him a glare and then let out a halting breath.

"It was a Bounty Hunter called—"

Buffy heard it before she saw the small dart pierce the skin of the woman. She let out another small shaky breath then blinked her eyes and died. Buffy watched as her face changed from the mostly human face to something alien. Obi-Wan gingerly pulled the dart out and looked it over.

"Toxic dart," Obi-Wan and Buffy said at the same time, again. Anakin looked between the two of them and smirked.

"Stop doing that," Buffy scolded, looking over at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan stood up, choosing to ignore Buffy.

"We need to get this information back to the council," he told them as Anakin stood up as well. He looked down at the dead bounty hunter and sighed.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Buffy paced outside what Obi-Wan had told her were the Jedi Council's chambers. She was walking back and forth in front of the large double doors, worrying. She wanted to know what was going on in there. Were they talking about her? Had Obi-Wan told them about the bounty hunter yet? Why would anyone want to kill Padme anyway? This all seemed very strange to her. She was used to finding something and killing it, not reporting back to the council, she stopped doing that a long time ago. She looked up when there was a slight noise from inside and smiled when Anakin opened the doors and came walking out. The doors closed behind him and he looked back at them. Then he looked down at her and smiled a little.

"I'm to take Padme back to Naboo," he told her. She could see that he was trying to hide his excitement. He wondered what the council would decide to do with her. Certainly they weren't going to train her. He had almost been too old by their standards, and she was a good 12 years older than he had been. "Obi-Wan has been sent after the bounty hunter."

"Oh," Buffy said, nodding her head slowly, that did not sound good for her.

-o-o-o-

"And you think this display of power means what?" Windu asked, folding his hands in his lap.

"I don't know-"

"Ahhh, revealed your feelings, you have" Yoda said, pointing at him with his gimer stick. "Force sensitive, you believe she is."

"Her Midichlorian count is 9,700," Obi-Wan said, looking from Yoda to the rest of the group. "She says she's been sent here to help."

"And you believe her?" Windu asked, leaning forward slightly.

"I feel no deceit in her," he said, shaking his head slightly.

"Bring her in," Windu said to Obi-Wan. He nodded and walked to the doors. He opened them and Buffy turned to look at him. He could see she had been pacing in front of the doors.

"They'd like to speak with you," he said, surprised by the nervousness coming off of her. "Take a breath," he said quietly to her when she was next to him. "You'll be fine." She looked up at him thankful for the words, even if they didn't help much. If these guys were anything like her council they were going to have problems.

"Hello," Buffy said smiling as she looked around at all the very different people.

"Buffy Summers, the Jedi council," Obi-Wan said, gesturing around the room at all the people. There were twelve people, of many shapes and sizes sitting around the room. Buffy smiled at each of them as Obi-Wan introduced them one by one.

"Welcome you to the Jedi council, we do," Yoda said, smiling at her when Obi-Wan was done.

"Thanks," Buffy said, taking a deep breath.

"Nervous, are you?" Yoda asked and she smiled. She had never seen anything quite like Yoda before, Buffy liked him right off.

"Kinda," She agreed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "It's just a lot to swallow, you know. For you I mean. I just don't want you to not believe me and throw me out or something." She let out a little giggle and shook her head. "And now I'm babbling, Willow would be proud." Buffy sighed at the thought of Willow.

"Ahh a great sadness there is in you," Yoda said and she nodded her head. "Lost the ones you love, you have."

"Yeah," Buffy said, nodding her head. "They're all back on earth."

"She's too old," Master Luminara Unduli, an olive-skinned, blue-eyed woman said, shaking her head. Buffy turned to look at her; she had little diamond shaped tattoos on her chin.

"With all due respect," Buffy said, looking from her back to Yoda. "I don't need training to be faster or stronger; I've been able to do that since I was 15 years old. What I need is help with this." She reached out her hand and the small screen sitting by Mace Windu's elbow came flying to her hand. A quiet murmur went up around the room as Buffy walked back over to Windu and handed it to him.

"I didn't ask for this, but I have it now and it might be a good idea if I knew how to use it." Buffy walked back over to Obi-Wan, she wondered if the rest of them saw the small quirk of his lips. Buffy grinned at him then turned and faced Yoda and Windu again. Yoda looked around the room at everyone and nodded his head.

"Reserve judgment for now, the council does," he said, pointing his gimer stick at Buffy. "Go with Obi-Wan to find this bounty hunter, you will." Buffy held in the sigh of relief and nodded her head. She could find out all she needed from Obi-Wan about Anakin, she would help him. They would not end up fighting by that lava river, she would see to it.

-o-o-o-o-

"Padme!" Buffy called, running over to Padme as she stuck her head out the door. Obi-Wan was off talking to Yoda about something and had instructed Buffy to stay in her room. So of course she had done just what he said, till she was sure he was gone. Then she headed over to Padme's room, she needed to talk to her.

"Mara," Padme said, turning as Buffy came up to her.

"Is it all right if I call you that? Do you prefer senator?" Buffy asked, smiling at her. She was still not used to that new name, she'd have to talk to Obi-Wan about that.

"Padme is fine," she said, smiling at her. She had a light brown robe on and an odd copper looking headdress. Man, these people dressed up for everything.

"Are you on your way to the shuttle?" Buffy asked as Padme looked around the small hallway.

"As soon as Dormé and Typho get here, can't have me wandering around by myself with someone trying to kill me." Buffy smirked at the bitterness in the words and Padme blushed a little. "They're only looking out for my well-being," she said, and it sounded to Buffy like she was trying to convince herself.

"Right," Buffy said, nodding her head. "Can I have a word then?"

"Of course," Padme said, nodding her head. She opened her door and stepped in, inviting Buffy in. "I was just checking to see if they were here yet," she told Buffy, closing the door behind them. Buffy watched Padme as she walked over to a bar, pulled open a door and pulled out a bottle of something blue.

"Would you like anything?" Padme asked, looking back at Buffy.

"No, thanks," Buffy said, shaking her head. Padme nodded then walked over to the couch and sat down.

"You had something to talk to me about?" Padme asked and Buffy nodded.

"Right," Buffy said, nodding her head again. She didn't sit down; instead she took to walking back and forth in front of her. "I know I don't know you all that well, hardly at all in fact," Buffy said, wondering how she was going to say this without making it sound odd.

"And I've known Anakin for about a second longer than you but..." She trailed off and turned and looked at Padme. "He's hot headed, I can tell, he's actually a lot like I was a few years ago. I know this isn't my place to say because, well like I said I don't know you guys. But I know you care about him. Obi-Wan told me you've known him since he was a child. So, just..." She trailed off again and took a deep breath. "Don't let him do anything stupid," Buffy finally got out and nodded. She turned to walk out the door and Padme stood up.

"Mara." Buffy sighed and turned around. Padme walked over to her. Buffy saw a few emotions in Padme's eyes, none of them were anger. "How long exactly have you known Anakin?"

"Um..." Buffy thought back, how many days had it been? "Around five or six days."

"And already you care about him?" Padme asked, there was a slight smirk in her eyes now. Buffy looked down at her feet and then back up at Padme.

"I left a lot of things behind so I could come here and watch out for him," she said, deciding a half truth was ok. Padme could be trusted, she was sure.

"Why?" Padme asked, a little surprised.

"Because he's going to need it," Buffy told her totally truthfully now. Buffy thought she saw a glimmer of understanding in Padme's eyes.

"You know more than you're letting on, don't you Mara?" Padme asked, a curious look on her face.

"Yeah, I do," Buffy said, nodding her head. She turned and walked to the door, reached out and stopped before she opened it. "Remember what I said," she told her, turning around to look at Padme. "Don't let him do anything stupid." Buffy turned, opened the door and walked out.

Padme stood there a long while watching the closed door. Where had this girl come from? All Obi-Wan had said about her was that she was extra security, but it seemed to Padme that she was a great deal more than that. She would have to ask Anakin about this Mara, who is she, where is she from, and could she be trusted?

-o-o-o-o-o-

"I don't see what is so hard about 'stay in your room?'" Obi-Wan asked, walking with Buffy towards the shuttle. Buffy snickered and rolled her eyes at the ground. This guy reminded her so much of Giles sometimes, and then at other times, he was a little like Xander. She wanted to see more of that side; she'd have to work on that.

"I had some things to do," Buffy said, shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, what am I going to do, it's not like I know my way around here, like I'd just up and leave you."

"Of course not," Obi-Wan agreed, nodding his head. Buffy could detect the slight smirk to his voice, though he was totally straight-faced. They walked in total silence for a long while. It was unusually comfortable walking in silence with Obi-Wan and Buffy wondered why.

"Will they train me?" Buffy asked, when they were halfway there. "I mean, I can't exactly get rid of whatever this is."

"I don't know," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head, a slight frown on his face now. "What Master Unduli said is true. You are far too old to be trained. But for a power as strong as yours to go untrained could be...disastrous." Buffy turned that word over in her mind for a while, how could it be disastrous? Untrained could she hurt herself, or someone else?

"Why?" Buffy asked after a few minutes.

"Untrained, you may be… easily swayed," he explained to her.

"Swayed?" Buffy said, looking up at him. He was a good seven inches taller than her. "What do you mean?"

"Many on the council will fear you going to the dark side," he said, looking down at her now. "They may want you trained, if only to stop that."

"I wouldn't," Buffy said, shaking her head with conviction as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. She was trying really hard not to be insulted. "I've spent the better half of my life fighting for the good guys, why would I suddenly change sides?" she finished, shaking her head.

"You have never touched the force before this." He formed it as a statement not a question but Buffy nodded anyway. "It is a great power, one that most are born with, and learn to understand it and use it at a very young age."

"With great power comes great responsibility," Buffy quoted, thinking of Xander. She smirked at the look on his face. "Sorry, go on."

"What you say is true," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head, confused by her chuckles.

"It's just, something from home," she explained with a sad smile. "So do you think they'll train me? If only to keep me safe?"

"I'm unsure; the force is strong in you. And if what you say is true, if you really are here to help then training you would be the only logical step."

"What do you mean 'if'?" Buffy asked, stopping to scowl up at him. "Don't you believe me?" He stopped too and looked down at her. She felt as though he were scouring her for the answers. As if he were reading her with his eyes, and it made her fidget a little.

"I do," he confirmed, after a few intense moments. Buffy smiled, unusually happy by his announcement. "I think they will train you, if only to keep you safe," he said and now Buffy could see the full fledged smirk on his face.

-o-o-o-o-

"Strong in the force, she is," Yoda said, nodding his head slowly. "Yes, yes, help us, I believe she will."

"Should we have her trained?" Windu asked, walking along next to Yoda.

"Divided on this, the council is," Yoda said, letting out a deep sigh. "Troublesome, that is."

"She does seem sincere, even if the story is a little hard to believe or understand," Windu said, folding his arms across his chest. "But she _is_ much too old."

"Ah, yes," Yoda said, rubbing his chin. "Come to the problem at hand, we have." He looked up at Windu. "Care not for her age, the dark side will." He nodded his head a little. "Recruit her they will, if given the chance."

"I agree," Windu said, nodding his head. "So we'll train her?"

"Wait, we should," Yoda told him, keeping his eyes forward as if he saw something Windu could not. "See where the force leads her, we will."

"Yes," Windu agreed. "And if she is to be trained? She's too old to be trained with the Younglings, she'll have to be taken as a Padawan. Who will be her master?"

"Revealed in time, that will be," Yoda said, looking up at Windu. "Very clouded, her future is."

"Are you worried she'll be tempted by the dark side?" Windu asked, looking down at Yoda. Yoda shook his head and a small smile played on his lips.

"Much change in the future, we will see," he said, his voice soft as if he really were looking into the future. "A large part of that, I believe she will be."

-o-o-o-o-

Buffy watched as everyone said their good-byes. Padme was talking to Dormé and Typho. Buffy could see that Dormé was crying and felt sorry for her, it was always hard to say good-bye to your friends, especially if you don't know if you'll see them again.

She was standing right next to Obi-Wan, right where he told her to stay. She was listening, this time, only because she wanted to know what was being said. Padme turned and smiled back at Anakin.

"Then my Jedi protector will have to prove how good he is," Buffy heard her say as Dormé nodded her head. Anakin nodded his head and Dormé smiled a little.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, pulling Anakin's attention back to him. "Don't do anything without first consulting either myself or the Council." His tone was solid and left no room for argument.

"Yes, Master," Anakin said, not without a little resentment. Buffy could hear it and if she could, Obi-Wan certainly could. She wondered why Obi-Wan was so hard on him; Anakin didn't seem like the sort to fly off half hazard, that about him was different from her.

"We will get to the bottom of this plot quickly, M'Lady. You'll be back here in no time," Obi-Wan said, looking from Buffy to Padme with a slight smile on his face.

"I will be most grateful for your speed, Master Jedi, Mara," she said, nodding to both of them. She lingered on Buffy for a moment and Buffy could feel the questions just racing through her. She pondered what Anakin would tell Padme about her. Padme finally smiled at Buffy and nodded her head and Buffy decided she hoped he told her everything.

"Time to go," Anakin told Padme, a small frown on his face.

"I know," Padme told him, rolling her eyes at Buffy before she turned and smiled at Anakin. She smiled at Dormé and hugged her, holding on tight for a long few seconds. Anakin bent over and grabbed their luggage when Padme released Dormé. They stepped off the speeder bus and Artoo beeped at them.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan called and Anakin turned to face him. "May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you, Master," Anakin said, smiling at them before he turned and walked away with Padme and Artoo at his side.

"I hope he doesn't try anything foolish," Obi-Wan said and Buffy could feel the worry rolling off of him.

"I'd be more concerned about her doing something, than him," Captain Typho said, smirking at both of them.

"I don't know, she seems pretty level headed to me," Buffy said, turning to look at both of them. "Don't you think, Dormé?" Buffy asked and Dormé looked at her oddly for a moment then smiled.

"Most of the time," she said finally.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"So, what's our first move?" Buffy asked, looking up at Obi-Wan; he looked down at her and his eyes swept over her outfit.

"First, we're going to get you something suitable to wear, then we're going to find out where that dart came from," Obi-Wan explained, and Buffy nodded her head.

"Ah, research mode, I'm down with that," Buffy said and again Obi-Wan looked at her oddly.

"Your speech is a little odd," he said after a few moments. He turned a corner and Buffy nodded her head smiling.

"So are your names," Buffy said, shrugging her shoulder.

"Our names?" he asked; she didn't know where they were going so she was following him. "What about Buffy?" he asked and Buffy smirked.

"Well, my full name is Elisabeth, but I've just always been Buffy," Buffy explained, smirking. "And what about Obi-Wan? And Anakin? Padme? To you they may sound normal, but to me they're a little odd. And what's with Mara? That's the first thing that popped into your head?"

"I didn't want to have to get into questions about you," he said, looking down at her. "I don't know enough to answer any of them, and your name would have brought on questions."

"Yeah, I see that, so would Obi-Wan where I'm from." Buffy crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked around. They were walking down an all glass hallway now; the only thing she couldn't see through was the floor. It was an interesting view though. So many things flying through the air, all different colors, shapes and sizes.

"Is that your full name?" Buffy asked after a few minutes. Did they have any kind of last name system here?

"No," he said, shaking his head. "My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Kenobi, huh?" Buffy asked, nodding her head. "Well, I'm Elisabeth Anne Summers."

"Elisa," Obi-Wan blurted after a moment. Buffy looked up at him and he seemed genuinely surprised to have said anything at all. "It just-"

"No, I like it," Buffy interrupted him, nodding her head. "Better than Mara anyway." Buffy looked up at him a playful smile on her face. Buffy followed him into some kind of store room; it was filled with rows and rows of some kind of clothing.

"For now you should dress as a Jedi, it'll make things easier, or at least less complicated," he said, walking down one of the rows, her right behind him.

"Does that mean I get a lightsaber too?" Buffy asked, hopeful, as she looked through the clothes.

"No," Obi-Wan told her, shaking his head. "Jedi make their own as a part of their trial, and we don't have extras lying around."

"I'll need some kind of a weapon at some point," Buffy said, pulling something down and looking it over. She put it over her arm and looked up at Obi-Wan.

"I know," he said nodding his head. "We'll get you a blaster for now, can you shoot?"

"What, like a gun?" Buffy asked, thinking back. She didn't have a lot of experience with guns, not any good ones anyway. But they couldn't be much harder to master than a crossbow, right? And she had a little bit of practice shooting. "I think I could manage that," Buffy told him, looking down at the stuff in her arms.

"Ok, good," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. "We'll head back to the rooms, and you can change." He started towards the door. "Then we'll get you a blaster and we can go see about this dart."

"Sounds like a plan," Buffy said, nodding her head as she followed him. Things were beginning to look up. She was helping them, just like she said she would. All she had to do now was change the future for Obi-Wan and Anakin, piece of cake. She sighed as she followed Obi-Wan out of the room and down the hall.

A/N- So what do we think? Is it any good, let me know! What's going to happen to Anakin and Padme? Will Padme take what Buffy said to heart? Will Buffy be able to save Anakin? And how will things change for Obi-Wan with Buffy at his side. Tune in next time!

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	3. Look, Listen, Learn

Top of Form

Chapter Three -o- Look, Listen, Learn

Buffy looked down at the small black gun that Obi-Wan had just handed her. It was light-weight and had a good balance to it. Not nearly as nice as a lightsaber, but it was usable. She looked the whole thing over never pointing it at anything. Fighting demons and vampires she had never had much use for a gun but Riley had shown her how to shoot once or twice a long time ago. Buffy looked up at Obi-Wan and caught him staring at her. Something about the way he was watching her made her fidgety again.

"So, are there bullets?" she asked. He blinked and looked a little confused.

"Bullets?" he asked, sounding unfamiliar with the word.

"Yeah, little metal projectiles flying from the gun at high speeds?" Buffy asked and still he looked stumped. She looked the gun over, turned to the target at the end of the room and pulled the trigger. A green bolt of light flew from the gun hitting the target relatively close to the bull's-eye leaving a round singed hole in the target.

"So they're all laser guns then," Buffy said, turning back to Obi-Wan. "I think I like lightsabers better."

"Yes indeed," he agreed, nodding his head, an approving look on his face. "This is a Blaster pistol; you seem to be a good shot," Obi-Wan said, holding out a holster for Buffy as he looked down at the target. She handed him the blaster and pulled her cloak back and wrapped the holster around her waist buckling it at the side. Obi-Wan handed her the blaster and she put it in the holster. She was now wearing a dark brown tunic and knee high boots with an almost black robe; except for the coloring she was almost a mirror image of Obi-Wan, she had been a little surprised when she realized this.

"Yeah, someone back home taught me," she told him as she turned back to the target. She pulled the gun out, pointed and reholstered it over and over till the motion was smooth and flawless. "Ok," she said, turning back to Obi-Wan. "Where are we going to find out about that dart?"

-o-o-o-o-

"This is Dex's Diner," Obi-Wan said, as they rounded a corner on the street and an old beat up building came into view. "I've known Dex for a very long time." Buffy looked around the street they were on; it was obviously an older part of the city. Buffy couldn't see how Obi-Wan would have come across this place.

"How do you know him?" Buffy asked, looking the old building over. The neon sign outside said Dex's Diner on it, or at least Buffy assumed it did, it was in another language. The question seemed to faze Obi-Wan as he stopped and looked down at her.

"My master, Qui-Gon Jinn, helped Dex with a few things when I was still a Padawan." Buffy nodded her head and thought that over. She'd never even thought about Obi-Wan having a master train him. It was hard to picture him as a young Padawan like Anakin, with a braid and all. There was something about the way he talked about his master that made Buffy curious.

"Will I get to meet Qui-Gon?" Buffy asked and watched as Obi-Wan closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Qui-Gon was struck down in battle when Anakin was still a young boy." Obi-Wan turned and began to walk towards Dex's again and Buffy followed him. 'Oh,' Buffy thought, sighing. 'Sadness, that's what it had been in his voice.' So he'd lost his mentor too, not that Giles was dead, but he was far out of her reach now.

"I'm sorry," Buffy said, coming up next to him.

"So am I," Obi-Wan said as they approached the diner. Obi-Wan held the door open and Buffy walked in with him right behind her. The diner was full of people, but by now Buffy was beginning to get used to seeing aliens around every corner.

"Can I help ya?" a female droid asked, stopping in front of them.

"We're looking for Dexter," Obi-Wan said, indicating himself and Buffy. She wheeled over to them and glared, or as much glared as a droid could.

"Waddya want him for?" she asked, suspicion lacing her voice. It surprised Buffy, she would have thought droids were more, emotionless.

"He's not in trouble. It's personal," Obi-Wan assured her smiling. The droid looked him over then looked at Buffy and then nodded. She wheeled over to the back counter.

"Someone to see ya, honey," she yelled through the opening to the back of the diner. She lowered her voice as she looked over her shoulder. "Jedi, by the looks of 'um." Buffy had been wrong, she was not used to seeing aliens, or at least not very used to it. The alien who stuck his head out was huge, but he had a big smile on his face.

"Obi-Wan!" he called, his eyes drifting to Buffy.

"Hey, Dex," Obi-Wan said, walking farther into the diner.

"Take a seat! Be right with ya!" Dex called, disappearing back inside the back of the diner. Obi-Wan walked over to a booth and gestured Buffy in and he sat down next to her.

"You want a cup of ardees?" the droid waitress asked, wheeling to a stop next to them.

"Two thank you," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Buffy looked sideways at Obi-Wan hoping ardees might be something she'll actually be able to drink. Buffy watched the waitress wheel over to the swinging doors and disappear. Dex came walking out seconds later a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, ol' buddy!" Dex exclaimed, nodding at Obi-Wan. Buffy had, as of now, not seen an alien that was so big, or had so many arms.

"Hey, Dex," Obi-Wan said again and Buffy smiled. Dex sat down across from them making the seats jump a little.

"So, who's this then? Not a new Padawan for sure, your Anakin's not been Knighted yet has he?" Dex asked smiling over at Buffy.

"No, she's a friend helping us find something," Obi-Wan told him and Buffy noticed that Dex didn't even blink at the vagueness of that. Dex nodded his head as the waitress set down three cups of something black and steaming. Buffy smelled it, it smelled kinda like coffee. She took a drink of it and nodded, it tasted kind of like coffee too.

"Not bad," she said, smiling at Dex. "I'm Elisa by the way," she said, holding out her hand. Dex took it into one of his hands and shook. It felt like he could have ripped her arm off if he'd wanted to and she was glad that he was one of the good guys.

"So, my friend. What can I do for ya?" Dex asked, turning back to Obi-Wan.

"You can tell me what this is," he said, pulling the dart out of his robes and laying it softly on the table between them. Buffy noticed Dex's eyes go large as he looked at the dart.

"Well, whaddya know..." he said softly as he carefully picked it up and turned it in his hands. "I ain't seen one of these since I was prospecting on Subterrel beyond the Outer Rim!" he told them, looking up from the dart.

"Can you tell us where it came from?" Obi-Wan asked, hope rising in his voice. Dex grinned, looking over at Buffy who smiled back; he put the dart back down and nodded.

"This baby belongs to them cloners," he told them. Buffy noticed Obi-Wan looked a little puzzled. "What you got here is a Kamino saberdart."

"Kamino saberdart?" Buffy asked and Obi-Wan looked to Dex. That was a new word; Buffy had started a list in her mind of new words. Saberdart was a good one, right up there with Lightsaber and Jedi.

"I don't know, it didn't show up in the droid analyses," Obi-Wan said and Dex snickered lightly.

"It's these funny little cuts on the side give it away," Dex said, pointing the cuts out with his huge fingers. "Those analysis droids you've got over there only focus on symbols, you know. I should think you Jedi would have more respect for the difference between knowledge and...wisdom," he said, drawing the last word out.

"Well, Dex, if droids could think, we wouldn't be here, would we?" They both laughed and Buffy smiled, she wanted to get out of here, they had a destination, why couldn't they go now? "Kamino, doesn't sound familiar. Is it part of the Republic?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy nodded, ah, that was why.

"No, it's beyond the Outer Rim. I'd say about twelve parsecs outside the Rishi Maze, toward the south. It should be easy to find, even for those droids in your archive. These Kaminoans keep to themselves. They're cloners. Damned good ones, too." Buffy was curious if he meant real clones, like making someone out of someone else, that was a little creepy.

"Cloners? Are they friendly?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy decided it was a good question, but she was still itching to get going. This whole research thing had never been her thing.

"It depends," Dex said and Buffy realized he was drawing it out on purpose, probably because he could tell Obi-Wan was curious.

"On what, Dex?" Obi-Wan asked, obviously wishing Dex would get to the point.

"On how good your manners are... and how big your pocketbook is..." he told them and Buffy smiled. So they were in it for the money, well that didn't surprise her. Obi-Wan nodded his head before he stood up. Buffy got out after him smiling at Dex.

"Thanks Dex," Obi-Wan said, pocketing the dart again.

"It was nice meeting an old friend of Obi-Wan," Buffy said, smiling up at him.

"Indeed," Dex said, nodding his head as he too stood. He was a good foot taller than Buffy, but then, who wasn't. "Come back when you have more time, I'll tell you some stories about your new friend Obi-Wan here," he said, elbowing Obi-Wan with his lower arm.

"I'll do that," Buffy said, nodding her head. Now that might be worth sitting around for.

-o-o-o-o-

"It just doesn't make any sense," Obi-Wan said as he and Buffy walked through the Jedi archives. "It should be there."

"Maybe Dex got it wrong," Buffy suggested and put her hands up in mock surrender when Obi-Wan looked sideways at her. "Or not."

"So, who are all these guys?" Buffy asked, looking up at the busts of different people.

"They are the Lost Twenty," Obi-Wan said and Buffy nodded; that didn't mean anything to her. He must have seen that because he explained further. "The only Jedi ever to resign their commissions from the Jedi Order."

"Oh," Buffy said, nodding her head. The bust that Obi-Wan was looking at looked to be human, he had a short beard that for some reason Buffy imagined would have been white.

"This is Count Dooku," Obi-Wan told her, looking at the man she was looking at. "He was Qui-Gon's master." Buffy studied the man's bust closely, wondering who he was and why he'd left.

"Did you call for assistance?" an older woman asked, coming up next to the pair. Buffy looked over at her as Obi-Wan blinked.

"Yes, we did," Buffy said finally, when Obi-Wan didn't speak up.

"Are you having a problem, Master Kenobi?" she asked, looking to Obi-Wan then back to Buffy.

"Yes, we're trying to find a planet system called Kamino. It doesn't seem to show up on any of the archive charts," Obi-Wan said as the three of them walked back towards the computers.

"I'm Elisa," Buffy said, smiling at the older woman.

"I'm Jocasta Nu," she said, smiling sweetly at Buffy. "You must be who has the council in a buzz." Obi-Wan looked up from the computer and Jocasta smiled.

"Kamino?" she asked, leaning over Obi-Wan's shoulder to look at the screen. "It's not a system I'm familiar with... Let me see...Are you sure you have the right coordinates?"

"According to my information, it should be in this quadrant somewhere... just south of the Rishi Maze," Obi-Wan said, tapping the screen where the planet should be. She looked over at Obi-Wan, a frown on her face.

"No coordinates?" she asked, sounding a little disgusted. "It sounds like the sort of directions you'd get from a street tout...or some old miner or Furbog trader."

"All three, actually," Obi-Wan told her and Buffy could see he was holding back the smirk.

"Are you sure it exists?" she asked skeptically.

"Absolutely," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Buffy was surprised by Obi-Wan's faith in Dex. He didn't seem the kind for blind faith, so this Dex must be a very reliable guy. She'd have to remember that.

"I hate to say it, but it looks like the system you're searching for doesn't exist," she said after a few more moments.

"That's impossible... perhaps the archives are incomplete," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head as he stood up.

"The archives are comprehensive and totally secure, my young Jedi. One thing you may be absolutely sure of - if an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist!" she told them hotly before turning and walking away.

"Well," Buffy said, nodding her head. "She was helpful."

"We'll go to Yoda, perhaps he can help us," Obi-Wan said, looking over his shoulder at her. "Have the council in a buzz?" he asked, his tone teasing and Buffy shrugged.

"I guess," she said, frowning a little.

"Don't worry, things will work themselves out," Obi-Wan said, putting his hand on her shoulder. He was so sincere it made Buffy smile, she hoped he was right.

-o-o-o-o-

Buffy and Obi-Wan stood back as a group of younglings exited the room they were walking towards. They all looked up at Obi-Wan and smiled or waved. He seemed to know them all. They were all dressed in mini Jedi robes and Buffy thought they all looked so cute.

"Yoda has just finished a class," Obi-Wan said as they walked into the room. Yoda looked up at them as they entered and smiled. He walked slowly towards them leaning heavily on his walking stick.

"Welcome Obi-Wan, Buffy, or Mara is it now?" Yoda asked, a small smirk on his face.

"Actually I'm going with Elisa now," Buffy said, bending down so she was eye level with him. "I don't suppose you guys have come to any kind of a decision have you?"

"Discussing this, the council is," Yoda said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Your fate, I cannot see. Give them time, you must." Buffy nodded her head as she slowly stood back up. Obi-Wan looked over at her, smiling reassuringly.

"What help to you, can I be?" Yoda asked, walking farther into the room with them.

"I'm looking for a planet described to me by an old friend. I trust him. But the system doesn't show up on the archive maps." Obi-Wan explained shaking his head; Buffy could feel his confusion, which was starting to confuse her. She'd never been dense when it came to people's feelings but she'd never been very empathic either. Now though, she could feel his confusion like she could feel her own. Yoda looked up at her, he watched her for a moment before he turned back to Obi-Wan.

"Ah, lost a planet you have." Yoda looked over at Buffy again and shook his head slowly. "How embarrassing, how embarrassing." Buffy giggled as Obi-Wan smiled. "An interesting puzzle," Yoda said, walking to the very middle of the room. "Put it in the map reader and find your wayward planet we will."

Obi-Wan put a little glass ball on the tall shaft in the center of the room. Yoda raised his arm and brought it down and with it the shades fell. The room filled with a light show unlike any Buffy had ever seen before. Stars shone all around her, they were floating, a kind of 3D hologram that filled the room.

"This is where it ought to be... but it isn't. Gravity is pulling all the stars in this area inward to this spot. There should be a star here... but there isn't," Obi-Wan said, walking to a spot in the stars and pointing out the empty spot to Yoda, where there was obviously a gravity pull, but no planet.

"Your archive librarian said that if the information wasn't in the archive then it didn't exist," Buffy said, walking around the two of them thinking it over. "But we're sure it's there." Obi-Wan watched her as she walked around the stars; she had a most thoughtful look on her face. Finally she stopped and looked down at Yoda.

"Couldn't someone have just erased it?" she finally asked after a moment. Buffy decided it must be a stupid suggestion, because Obi-Wan just stared at her and Yoda chuckled a little.

"Right, you are," Yoda said, nodding his head after a moment. He smiled up at her as Obi-Wan took the glass ball off the stand.

"I am?" Buffy asked, a little surprised. The stars disappeared and Yoda brought the shades back up.

"Go to the center of the gravity's pull, and find your planet you will," Yoda said, looking up at Obi-Wan.

"But Master Yoda, who could have erased information from the archives? That's impossible, isn't it?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy listened; it must be heavily guarded if they thought it was impossible to erase something from it. Yoda looked from Buffy to Obi-Wan and sighed.

"Dangerous and disturbing this puzzle is. Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who and why, harder to answer. Meditate on this, I will. May the Force be with you," Yoda said and Obi-Wan nodded his head. He walked past Buffy towards the doors; Buffy looked back over at Yoda before following him out.

"Why would a Jedi erase something like a planet from the archives?" Buffy asked widening her step to keep up with Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan looked down at her but didn't answer, had no answer she was sure.

-o-o-o-o-

"There it is, Elisa, right where it should be. Our missing planet, Kamino. Those files _were_ altered." He looked over his shoulder at Buffy; she was trying to hold onto her composure because it seemed lightspeed didn't quite agree with her. She was gripping the side of the starship so hard her knuckles were starting to turn white. "You were right."

"Ok, great," Buffy said, nodding her head as she tried to loosen her grip. "We're not going to do that again for a while are we?"

"No," Obi-Wan told her as he disengaged from the hyperspace transport ring. Slowly he flew towards the planet; it was easy to forget that she was not used to this kind of travel.

"It looks very wet," Buffy said after they broke atmosphere and she could see the hard rain falling. The wide buildings built on stilts seemed like they would withstand any kind of storm though. 'Why would anyone erase this planet?' Buffy thought as Obi-Wan brought the ship closer.

"Shall we see what's so important about this planet?" Obi-Wan asked as he touched down on the landing platform. He was thinking along the same lines as Buffy, what could be here worth erasing?

"Well, we've come all this way," Buffy said, smirking at him when he turned and looked at her; he had an odd little smile on his face. They both climbed out of the starship as best they could as the rain pounded at them. Buffy pulled her hood up after Obi-Wan and they both hurried to the doors. They slid open and they stepped in and looked around. Buffy pushed her hood back and ran her hands through her hair, it was soaked, as was Obi-Wan's.

"Master Jedi, so good to see you." Both of them looked up as a very tall thin alien walked over to them. She had some kind of smile on her face; her lips were so small it was hard to tell. "The Prime Minister expects you."

"We're expected?" Obi-Wan asked warily, looking over to Buffy then back to the tall alien.

"Of course! He is anxious to meet you. After all these years, we were beginning to think you weren't coming. Now please, this way!" she said, sweeping her hands in front of her. Buffy could tell Obi-Wan had been surprised by the fact that they had known they were coming, but he hid it well.

"All these years?" Buffy said in such a low whisper she knew only Obi-Wan would hear her. He looked from Buffy back to Taun We and back again and shrugged. After only a little while they came to some, surprise, surprise, white doors. Everything here, Buffy was starting to see, was white, or some close shade. The doors slid open and Buffy followed Obi-Wan into the small round room. There was another tall thin alien sitting in an egg shaped chair in the middle of the room. He stood up when they walked in and smiled at them both. One chair lowered from the ceiling and Obi-Wan sat down, Buffy stood to his right.

"May I present Lama Su, Prime Minister of Kamino... and this is Master Jedi..." She trailed off, looking over to Obi-Wan and Buffy.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan said, then looking to his right he smiled. "And my companion Elisa."

"I trust you are going to enjoy your stay. We are most happy as you have arrived at the best part of the season," Lama Su said, looking towards the doors.

"You make us feel most welcome," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Buffy was starting to consider the fact that maybe Obi-Wan didn't know what was going on any better than she did.

"And now to business. You will be delighted to hear we are on schedule. Two hundred thousand units are ready, with another million well on the way," Lama Su told them, obviously expecting them to know just what he was talking about.

"That is... good news." Neither of the Kaminoans seemed to notice the pause but Buffy did, he _was_ improvising. He didn't know what was going on; Buffy wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse. Nope, worse, it definitely made her feel worse.

"Please tell your Master Sifo-Dyas that we have every confidence his order will be met on time and in full. He is well, I hope." Lama Su folded his hands in his lap.

"I'm sorry? Master...?" Obi-Wan asked, looking a little confused.

"Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. He's still a leading member of the Jedi Council, is he not?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Master Sifo-Dyas was killed almost ten years ago," Obi-Wan told him and Buffy had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was going on here, something none of them had expected.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. But I'm sure he would have been proud of the army we've built for him," Lama Su told them, nodding his head proudly.

"The army?" Buffy couldn't help but ask. Obi-Wan looked up at her and she smiled sheepishly at him.

"Yes, a clone army. And, I must say, one of the finest we've ever created," Lama Su told them, looking from Buffy to Obi-Wan.

"Tell me, Prime Minister, when my Master first contacted you about the army, did he say who it was for?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy could feel, even though she wasn't sure how, that Obi-Wan was uneasy about this too.

"Of course he did. This army is for the Republic. But you must be anxious to inspect the units for yourself," Lama Su told them as he stood up and looked down at them.

"That's why we're here," Obi-Wan said, standing up too. He looked over at Buffy when Lama Su was ahead of them; he let her see his confusion for a moment before he covered it again. She was feeling exactly the same, what was going on here?

-o-o-o-o-

"Anakin, this is Paddy Accu, he's the retreat caretaker," Padme introduced an older man with a balding head. He had a big smile on his face as Anakin reached out and shook his hand.

"So nice to have people up here for a while," Paddy told them, helping them load their luggage into the water speeder. "Been a while, no one seems to have time anymore these days."

"I'm very excited about seeing it," Padme said as Anakin helped her into the speeder. "It has been far too long." Paddy nodded and Anakin climbed into the speeder. The water was calm and the ride was smooth and easy. Padme pointed out a few of the different birds that flew over them.

"Oh, Anakin, there it is!" Padme gasped as the large retreat came into view. It sat just on the edge of the water, the sun sparkling off the windows.

"It's beautiful," Anakin agreed, nodding his head and Padme smiled at him.

"I can't wait to show you around, Anakin," she said, looking from it to him, a smile on her face that made her whole face light up.

"How long has it been here?" he asked, looking the huge lake house over. It was probably one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen on Naboo.

"A very long time," Padme told him as they got closer. "It's been here for almost 200 years," Padme said and fell easily into the history of the lake retreat. Anakin sat back and listened as she told him all about it. It was so easy to listen to her talk; she had such a soft comforting voice. It was no wonder she was such a good senator. She got so into it that she was surprised when they docked at the retreat. Anakin smiled at her and got out then reached down for her. She took his hand and he helped her out of the water speeder.

"I'll have your stuff taken up to your rooms," Paddy told them and Padme smiled nodding her head.

"Thank you, Paddy," Padme said. He nodded his head and walked towards the main house. Padme looked up at Anakin; she looked like an excited child.

"Come on, I'd like to show you something," she said, walking up some stairs to their right. Anakin followed her up the stairs out onto a small balcony that overlooked the water.

"When I was in Level Three, we used to come here for school retreat. See that island? We used to swim there every day. I love the water," she told him as they came to the edge of the balcony. She leaned on the railing and sighed wistfully.

"I do too. I guess it comes from growing up on a desert planet," he told her and she smiled up at him. Padme blinked a few times at his gaze then turned back to the water.

"We used to lie on the sand and let the sun dry us... and try to guess the names of the birds singing," she said, trying to fill the empty air. There was something in the air here, something she couldn't quite identify.

"I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything's soft... and smooth," Anakin said, running his fingers lightly over Padme's arm. Padme looked up into his eyes and felt almost caught there. He leaned over and did catch her lips with his. It was such a feeling, so much emotion and passion in that one little kiss. It only took a moment for Mara's words to come floating back to her, 'don't let him do anything stupid' - is this what she meant? Padme pulled away and looked down at the water a few feet below them.

"No, I shouldn't have done that," she told him, not sure what this feeling in the pit of her stomach was, but she knew it was going to be a problem.

"I'm sorry," Anakin said quietly as he too looked out at the water.

-o-o-o-o-

'Another hall made of all glass,' Buffy thought as Lama Su and Taun We led them through their facility. Outside the glass, there were little pods with what looked like babies in them, all over. It was a little frightening for Buffy; she had never even imagined something like this. 'Xander on the other hand,' she thought, looking at Obi-Wan as he talked with Lama Su, 'he'd be right at home here.' Buffy stopped in front of what looked to be some kind of a classroom.

"We take great pride in our combat education and training programs. This group was created about five years ago," Lama Su told them as they looked over the small boys. They all looked exactly the same, hair, height, age, they were all the same.

"You mentioned growth acceleration?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy looked back at Lama Su. Lama Su nodded his head as he walked towards the glass walls.

"Oh yes, it's essential. Otherwise, a mature clone would take a lifetime to grow. Now, we can do it in half the time," he explained, looking down at Obi-Wan. This whole thing was just all kinds of wrong, growing people? And not just that, but as an army, made to fight, with no will of their own.

"You'll find they are totally obedient, taking any order without question. We modified their genetic structure to make them less independent than the original host," Lama Su explained as they moved on past the classroom.

"Who was the original host?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy nodded; at least he was keeping up with all this, it was a little mind boggling for her.

"A bounty hunter called Jango Fett. We felt a Jedi would be the perfect choice, but Sifo-Dyas hand-picked Jango Fett himself," Lama Su told them and Buffy's ears perked up at the words bounty hunter. Could this be the guy they were looking for?

"Where is this bounty hunter now?" Obi-Wan asked, looking back at the two Kaminoans; obviously he was thinking the same thing she was.

"Oh, we keep him here," Lama Su said, nodding his head.

"Apart from his pay, which is considerable, Fett demanded only one thing - an unaltered clone for himself. Curious, isn't it?" Lama Su explained as they passed by a group of clones who were all sitting down to eat. They looked like fully grown adults and Buffy found herself contemplating how old they really were.

"Unaltered?" Buffy asked, seconds before Obi-Wan could utter the same word.

"Pure genetic replication. No tampering with the structure to make it more docile... and no growth acceleration," Lama Su explained to Buffy, a semi patronizing look on his face.

"We would very much like to meet this Jango Fett," Obi-Wan said and Buffy nodded her head. She sure would like to have a few words with this guy.

"I would be most happy to arrange it for you," Taun We told him, smiling. She bowed and turned and walked back the way they had come. Lama Su led them out onto a balcony, Buffy walked to the edge and had to hold back the gasp of surprise. There had to be hundreds of them, thousands. They were all wearing white armor and had helmets on, but Buffy could see their faces in her mind, all exactly the same.

"Magnificent, aren't they?" Lama Su asked, walking over to the edge and looking out at the clone army too. 'Grotesque,' Buffy thought, wondering what Obi-Wan thought of all this. Maybe here, in this world, this kind of thing was normal. Buffy took a deep breath as Obi-Wan slowly nodded his head.

-o-o-o-o-

"So she reached over and kissed me," Anakin told Padme, a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Obi-Wan had a hard time not laughing outright at the whole thing." Padme nodded her head chuckling a little at his story. Anakin was telling her about his first kiss, it had been a girl he'd helped Obi-Wan save almost right after he'd become a Padawan.

"What about you?" Anakin asked as Padme leaned off the blanket they were sitting on in the huge meadow and picked a flower. She looked up at him and he smiled at the faint blush on her cheeks.

"I don't know," she said, shrugging her shoulders a little and looking back at the flower.

"Sure you do... you just don't want to tell me," Anakin said, playfully nudging her with his elbow.

"Are you going to use one of your Jedi mind tricks on me?" Padme asked teasingly as she looked back up at him. She turned the little flower into a ring and slid it onto her finger.

"They only work on the weak-minded. You are anything but weak-minded," Anakin assured her, a semi serious look on his face.

"All right," Padme said, laughing lightly. "I was twelve. His name was Palo. We were both in the Legislative Youth Program. He was a few years older than I...very cute...dark curly hair...dreamy eyes." Padme giggled at the look of disgust on Anakin's face.

"All right, I get the picture," Anakin said, shaking his head. "Whatever happened to him?"

"I went into public service. He went on to become an artist," Padme told him, picking up a piece of fruit.

"Maybe he was the smart one," Anakin said, an edge of humor in his voice.

"You really don't like politicians, do you?" Padme asked, laughing at the look on his face.

"I like two or three." He looked sideways at her and smirked. "But I'm not really sure about one of them." He paused and seemed to be thinking about something. "I don't think the system works."

"How would you have it work?" Padme asked, leaning back onto her arms.

"We need a system where the politicians sit down and discuss the problem, agree what's in the best interests of all the people, and then _do_ it," Anakin said and Padme shook her head.

"That is exactly what we do. The trouble is that people don't always agree. In fact, they hardly ever do," Padme said, getting into the discussion, unaware that Anakin was purposely winding her up.

"Then they should be made to," Anakin told her, a slight frown on his face.

"By whom? Who's going to make them?" Padme asked seriously.

"I don't know. Someone."

"You?" Padme asked and Anakin shook his head.

"Of course not me," Anakin said, knowing a system like that could never work, not in reality.

"But someone."

"Someone wise," Anakin said, enjoying his teasing. She shook her head and frowned.

"That sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship to me," she said, looking sideways at Anakin. A mischievous little grin crept across his face.

"Well, if it works." Padme looked at him shocked for a moment. But Anakin couldn't hold the serious look for very long and she shook her head when the smile broke out on his face.

"You're making fun of me!" she demanded, laughing at the look on his face.

"Oh no," he said sarcastically, shaking his head. "I'd be much too frightened to  
tease a Senator."

"You're so bad!" Padme told him. She leaned over to swat him playfully on the arm but he dodged out of the way. She picked up a piece of fruit and threw it at him. He caught it in his right hand and wiggled his eyebrows. She picked up more fruit and threw it at him too. As soon as he had three pieces he started to juggle them. She kept throwing them and he kept adding them to his juggling.

"You're so serious," Anakin said, now juggling six pieces of fruit, and doing it pretty well too.

"I'm so serious?!" Padme asked as he started to lose control of all the fruit. She laughed as all the fruit rained down on him. He fell back down next to her, their laughter ringing through the waterfalls that surrounded them.

"What is that?" Anakin asked after a while when he caught sight of the huge four legged animal off in the distance. Padme regained her breath and looked up where he was looking.

"That's a shaak," Padme said, looking over at Anakin as he stood up.

"Is it mean?" Anakin asked, helping her up off the blanket too.

"No," Padme said shaking her head. "They're not domesticated though," she said and caught a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Ok," Anakin said, starting over to them.

"Anakin, what are you doing?" Padme asked, running up next to him.

"Stand back, M'Lady," Anakin said with false bravado as he swaggered up to the shaak. Padme giggled as she watched him walk around the shaak.

"Annie, be careful," she called. Anakin began to be a little more cautious as he reached out with the force to calm the shaak. The shaak huffed as Anakin began to ease himself onto its back, standing. Anakin let go of the force and when the shaak realized there was something on its back it began to run.

"Anakin!" Padme laughed, running after them. She stopped in horror when the shaak bucked Anakin off its back and he landed on the ground in front of it. She ran to him as the shaak trampled him then ran off. Anakin tried to pull himself up but couldn't do it.

"Annie, Annie!" Padme called as she got closer. "Are you all right?" She asked frantically as she turned him over. She pulled away when she saw his smiling face.

"Oh!" she yelped as she began to pound on his chest lightly. "You-" she was cut off as Anakin grabbed her shoulders and pulled her down, she flipped them over and they rolled through the grass a little before coming to a stop with Padme lying on top of Anakin; she was now looking down as they both laughed. Their laughter died off and they both just stared at each other.

"I want to try," Padme said, quickly sitting up and moving away from Anakin.

"Ok," Anakin said, nodding his head. He stood up and reached down for her hand. She let him help her up and they slowly walked over to another shaak. Anakin calmed it a little and then climbed on, sitting down this time. He helped Padme up and she sat behind him. Anakin smiled when she wrapped her arms around his stomach.

"Let's see what this thing can do," Padme said and Anakin nodded his head, digging his heels into the shaak's side and laughing at Padme's muffled cry of shock as the shaak started off.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Could this have been hidden from the council?" Buffy asked Obi-Wan as they sat in a small room alone. Lama Su had some things to see to so they were waiting for Taun We to show them to the bounty hunter.

"Not easily, no," Obi-Wan said as he rubbed his bearded chin in thought. Buffy watched and wondered why he had a beard, it made him look older than he was.

"Why the beard?" she asked after a moments thought. "I mean, is it like a Jedi thing or do you just like it?" Obi-Wan looked up at her from his musings and smiled.

"I started it after I took on Anakin as my Padawan, I don't know, it just seemed the thing to do," he told her, shrugging his shoulders a little. "Why do you put false coloring into your hair?"

"What?!" Buffy asked, reaching up to the top of her head. "How can you tell?" Obi-Wan reached up and ran his hands over the roots of his hair. "Oh, are my roots showing?" She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "I don't suppose you guys have hair dyes?"

"I'm sure we could find something," Obi-Wan told her, nodding his head. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh." Buffy thought, nodding her head. "I don't know, I just like being blonde." She smirked when she saw his point and nodded. "You just like having a beard, gotcha."

"My-"

"He's back," Taun We said, interrupting Obi-Wan as she walked into the room. "I will show you to his apartment."

"Cool," Buffy said, standing up with Obi-Wan. Buffy wished she could see what he looked like without the beard; she was willing to bet it would take ten years off his face.

-o-o-

The three of them walked down another long white hallway and stopped at a door on the right side. Taun We waved her hand and they could hear an almost silent bell go off inside. Buffy looked down at the door where Obi-Wan was looking and noticed the odd locks on the doors. When the doors finally slid open a few seconds later, a ten year old boy was standing there looking up at them.

"Boba, is your father here?" Taun We asked politely, smiling down at him. Boba's eyes lingered on Buffy and Obi-Wan, then he nodded.

"Yep," he said, nodding his head but making no move to invite them in.

"May we see him?" Taun We asked still smiling down at the kid.

"Sure," he said, now moving back from the doorway so they could enter. "Dad! Taun We's here!" he called, walking into the living room area. Buffy was not surprised by the look of the man who came in from some side room. He had dark hair, just like the kid and had weird tattoos all down his left arm, and of course, looked just like all the clones. He had a suspicious look on his face as he too eyed Obi-Wan and Buffy, his eyes lingering on Buffy in a way that was not unfamiliar to her.

"Jango, welcome back. Was your trip productive?" Taun We asked, walking farther into the room.

"Fairly," Jango said, nodding his head as he and Obi-Wan sized each other up.

"This is Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's come to check on our progress," she said, sweeping her arm back to Obi-Wan and Buffy. "And this is his companion, Elisa."

"That right?" Jango asked, fixing his eyes coldly on Obi-Wan.

"Your clones are very impressive. You must be very proud," Obi-Wan told him with utterly no emotion, clearly _not_ impressed. Buffy wondered how he did that; she wasn't sure how much more of Jango's staring she was going to be able to take.

"I'm just a simple man, trying to make my way in the universe, Master Jedi." The words 'Master Jedi' were mocking ones and not meant to show any respect.

"Yeah right," Buffy muttered under her breath, just loud enough that Boba heard her and glared. Something about this kid made her way uneasy. While Obi-Wan and Jango continued to size each other up Buffy looked around the room a little. She caught sight of something sitting in the corner of a room off to the left. She lightly nudged Obi-Wan and he turned to look at her and she looked towards the room. He followed her gaze and saw the armor sitting on the floor too. Jango saw them both looking and moved so he was now standing in the way.

"Ever make your way as far into the interior as Coruscant?" And now Buffy could hear a little bit of emotion in Obi-Wan's voice.

"Once or twice," Jango said smugly, nodding his head.

"Recently?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy felt him stiffen a little.

"Possibly..." he said, drawing the word out.

"Then you must know Master Sifo-Dyas?" Obi-Wan asked, watching Jango's every move. Buffy knew, without a doubt this was the guy, for sure. Why was Obi-Wan pussy footing around it? Was there some information he was hoping to glean first? She tried to look at it from his point of view, he must know what he was doing, she could wait.

"Master who?" Jango asked. He turned to his son and said something that Buffy didn't understand and a few seconds later Boba closed the door where the armor was.

"Sifo-Dyas. Is he not the Jedi who hired you for this job?" Obi-Wan asked, watching as Boba closed the door.

"Never heard of him," Jango told them, shrugging his shoulders.

"Really?" Obi-Wan asked; the suspicion in his voice was clear.

"I was recruited by a man called Darth Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogden," Jango said, nodding his head.

"No? I thought-"

"Sifo-Dyas told us to expect him," Taun We interrupted Obi-Wan, turning to look back at him. "And he showed up just when your Jedi Master said he would. We have kept the Jedi's involvement a secret until your arrival, just as your Master requested." She smiled at him and seemed genuinely confused by the tension in the room.

"Curious," Obi-Wan said under his breath so only Buffy could hear him.

"Do you like your army?" Jango asked after a moment of silence.

"I look forward to seeing them in action," Obi-Wan told him, nodding his head.

"They'll do their job well, I'll guarantee that," Jango told them smiling. 'Man, he has a creepy smile,' Buffy thought as Obi-Wan nodded.

"Thanks for your time, Jango," Obi-Wan said, smiling thinly at him.

"Always a pleasure to meet a Jedi," Jango said, nodding his head at them.

Buffy followed Obi-Wan and Taun We out the door. It slid shut behind them and Buffy had to shake an odd feeling away as they walked down the hall. The two of them hung back a little ways from Taun We as she led them out.

"He knows something," Buffy said quietly, looking down at the ground.

"Yes, he does," Obi-Wan agreed, nodding his head lightly.

"Why don't we go ask him then?" Buffy asked, still not understanding why they hadn't asked more pointed questions.

"We must take this to the council first," Obi-Wan said, looking over at her. "Though I'm sure they'll feel the same way."

"Ok, check in first." Buffy was having a little bit of a hard time falling into the follower role. Not that she considered herself that big a leader, but this was very different from the way things worked back home. She hadn't 'checked in' with the council in years. "Then we can question him?"

"Most likely," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head.

Top of Form


	4. Saving Grace

Chapter Four -o- Saving Grace

"And when I got to them, we went into... aggressive negotiations," Anakin explained, smiling at Telckla, one of the workers in the retreat, as she set down his dessert in front of him. "Thank you." She nodded and she and Nandi walked out.

"'Aggressive negotiations,' what's that?" Padme asked, looking a little confused.

"Uh, well, negotiations with a lightsaber," Anakin said, smirking at her as she laughed.

"Oh," she said, nodding her head as she picked up her fork. But before she could cut off a piece of the fruit it moved away from her fork. Padme looked up at Anakin who was studying his plate with great intensity.

"You did that?" she asked, a little surprised and a little awed. Anakin looked up at her the perfect picture of innocence and smiled.

"What?" he asked her with a hint of a smirk. Padme glared at him, well half glared, half smiled as she went back to her fruit. She went to cut a piece off again when this time it floated off the plate into the air.

"That! Now stop it!" Padme giggled, reaching out now with her hand for the fruit, but it looped away from her.

"Anakin!!" Padme laughed outright now when the fruit flew to his hand.

"If Master Obi-Wan caught me doing this, he'd be very grumpy," Anakin said, setting the fruit on his own plate. He cut it up and sent a piece back to her. She smiled before she leaned forward and took a bite out of it in the air. She giggled as the juices dribbled down her chin and Anakin laughed.

-o-o-

Later that night the two of them were sitting by the fire in the huge living room. It was a warm room made to fit a great number of people, so with just the two of them it seemed almost hollow. Padme was sitting next to Anakin, staring into the fireplace. The fire crackled and popped and Padme smiled. She loved the fireplace here; it was tall and always seemed to give off so much warmth. She looked up at Anakin and caught him watching her, a lost look in his eyes.

"Anakin?" she asked, her voice coming out as a whisper. It took her a moment to realize he was leaning towards her. 'Stop him,' her mind whispered, 'this can't happen, not now, not ever.'

"Anakin, don't," Padme said, her voice a little stronger now. He pulled away fast and stood up walking towards the fireplace. He stood with his back to her for a long moment, unsure of himself like he'd never been before.

"From the moment I met you so many years ago, a day hasn't gone by when I didn't think of you. Your smiling face helped me when I felt all alone in the world. When I missed home or my mother, you're what made me stronger, you helped me through it. And now I'm back here with you and..." he trailed off, turning to look at her now. "The more time I spend with you the worse it gets. I can't stop thinking about you; the thought of not being with you, it breaks my heart. I'm haunted by the kiss you should never have given me, hoping that that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me. What can I do? I will do anything you ask..." Anakin looked at her for a long moment, her silence ripping apart what little sanity he had left.

"If you are suffering as much as I am, please tell me," Anakin asked, begged her as he walked towards her.

"I can't. We can't. It's just not possible," Padme said, shaking her head as tears filled her eyes.

"Anything's possible. Padme, please listen-"

"You listen. We live in a real world. Come back to it. You're studying to become a Jedi Knight. I'm a Senator. If you follow your thoughts through to conclusion, they will take us to a place we cannot go... regardless of the way we feel about each other," Padme said, sorry for the tone she was using, but she had to get through to him; no matter what they felt it just, it couldn't work.

"Then you do feel something!" Anakin exclaimed, a small smile on his face as she bent her head and looked away from him.

"Jedi aren't allowed to marry. You'd be expelled from the Order. I will not let you give up your future for me." Padme said trying to be rational, trying to be the level headed one.

"You're asking me to be rational. That is something I know I cannot do. Believe me, I wish I could wish my feelings away... but I can't." Anakin took her hand into his and looked into her eyes.

"I will not let you give up your future for me," Padme told him again, shaking her head as she pulled her hand free. Anakin could see the tears sliding down her cheeks now and wished to wipe them away. She just stood there staring at him for a moment, wishing for nothing more than to reach out to him, to have him hold her.

"Goodnight Anakin," Padme said, turning finally and walking out the door towards her room. Anakin stood there watching the door for a long while; by the time he decided to go to bed the fire had all but burned itself out.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Tell your Council the first battalions are ready. And remind them that if they need more troops, we will need time to grow them." Taun We told them smiling as she bowed slightly.

"Yeah, we'll be sure to let them know," Buffy told him, semi sarcastically, as she pulled her cloak up over her head.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. He followed Buffy out the doors into the rain.

"That's all kinds of disturbing," Buffy said, looking over her shoulder at the doors. "Is that kind of thing...normal?"

"Clones?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy nodded her head, fighting against the wind to hold her cloak in place. "They are not abnormal, but they are not common."

"Well, that makes me feel better," Buffy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Doesn't that make you a little...angry?" Buffy asked and then shook her head. "I mean, I know you can't get _angry_ but, all those people born with no freewill, no choice but to fight, that doesn't seem...wrong?"

"It's not something I condone, no," Obi-Wan told her as they walked toward the ship. "But it is not against the laws so there is nothing to do about it now."

"Well I think it's barbaric," Buffy said, shaking her head. She didn't even know why they bothered with the cloaks, they were both totally soaked already anyway.

"Arfour," Obi-Wan said when they got to the ship. "Arfour, relay this, 'scramble code five,' to Coruscant: care of 'the old folks home.'" Buffy looked up at Obi-Wan who smiled and shrugged. "It's Yoda's code not mine." Buffy smiled when some kind of a satellite popped up out of the starship and swiveled around a little. Arfour beeped a few times and Obi-Wan nodded his head. Buffy was a little surprised as she watched two little holoimages appear on the ship, one of Yoda and one of Windu.

"I have successfully made contact with the Prime Minister of Kamino. They are using a bounty hunter named Jango Fett to create a clone army. I have a strong feeling that this bounty hunter is the assassin we're looking for," Obi-Wan told them, folding his hands into his cloak; no doubt they were freezing, just like Buffy's.

"Do you think these cloners are involved in the plot to assassinate Senator Amidala?" Windu asked, folding his hands onto his lap.

"No, Master. There appears to be no motive," Obi-Wan said, yelling at times to overcome the wind.

"Do not assume anything, Obi-Wan. Clear, your mind must be if you are to discover the real villains behind the plot," Yoda told him, shaking his head slowly. "Agree with this, Elisa does?" Yoda asked, looking away from Obi-Wan.

"I do," Buffy said, nodding her head as Obi-Wan pulled her into the holoimage so Yoda and Windu could see her. "He's hiding something; I think he knows for sure who hired him to try and assassinate Padme."

"They say a Master Sifo-Dyas placed the order for a clone army at the request of the  
Senate almost ten years ago. I was under the impression he was killed before that. Did the Council ever authorize the creation of a clone army?" Obi-Wan asked, taking over the conversation. Buffy stayed where she was though in case they asked her something else.

"No. Whoever placed that order did not have the authorization of the Jedi Council," Windu told them, shaking his head.

"Into custody, take this Jango Fett. Bring him here. Question him, we will," Yoda told them, looking from one to the other. His eyes remained trained on Buffy for a long moment and then he nodded. "Elisa, help us greatly, I believe you will."

"Thank you master," Buffy said, bowing her head a little like she'd seen Obi-Wan do.

"We will report back when we have him," Obi-Wan said, placing his hand on Buffy's shoulder. The two little holograms disappeared and Buffy and Obi-Wan were once again alone in the rain.

"The force, it's pretty powerful stuff, right?" Buffy asked, looking up at Obi-Wan.

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. "Very powerful."

"So how come someone could erase a planet and hide an entire army from you?" she asked and Obi-Wan looked down at her. He looked a little more than worried now.

"The dark side clouds everything now," Obi-Wan told her, shaking his head. "It's getting harder to feel into the force."

"That's bad," Buffy pointed out, though she knew he already knew that.

"That's very bad," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head.

-o-o-o-

"Mom...no...no...mom...mom..." Anakin thrashed back and forth in his sleep.

"Annie," Padme said, touching his shoulder lightly. "Annie, wake up," she called, shaking him a little more frantically. "Annie!" she called when he still refused to wake up; he was thrashing back and forth, making little mewling sounds deep in the back of his throat.

"Anakin!" she called again and at last his eyes popped open and he gasped in a large breath.

"Padme?" he asked groggily, looking around the room till his eyes focused on her.

"Annie, you were having a nightmare," she said, putting both her hands on his shoulders. "Are you ok?"

"Jedi do not have nightmares," Anakin said groggily as he sat up. Padme watched him as he took two long breaths, as if clearing his head.

"It sure sounded like a nightmare to me," Padme told him. His eyes went to his window; the stars were still shining, it was still quite late.

"What are you doing here?" Anakin asked after a few seconds. He looked back at her and she looked down at her lap.

"I...I couldn't sleep," she told him finally, looking back up at him. "Were you dreaming about your mom?" she asked, trying to deflect the attention onto him.

"Yes," he said, nodding his head slowly. "Something's happened, someone's hurting her. I can feel it." Padme could see the pain in his eyes; she knew he missed his mother more than he let on. If someone was hurting her enough that he could feel it maybe they should do something about it.

"Is she still on Tatooine?" Padme asked, standing up.

"As far as I know," Anakin said, nodding his head. "Yes, yes she is." He sounded so sure now and Padme nodded. He pulled the covers back and stood up. "Why?"

"Well, no one would expect to find me on a desert planet like Tatooine, would they?" She smiled, turning around to look at him. "I'll go get a few things together; how long will it take you to be ready?" Anakin looked a little taken aback by this but he smiled and nodded nonetheless.

"What about Master Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked as she headed to the door. Padme turned and walked back over to him, took his hand in hers and smiled up at him.

"I guess we won't tell him, will we?" she asked, a hint of a smirk on her face.

"Give me ten minutes," he said and she nodded her head. She walked out the door and again Anakin found himself staring after her. He could save his mother; with Padme by his side what couldn't he do?

-o-o-o-

"What are we going to do with the kid?" Buffy asked as they walked quickly down the hall towards Jango Fett's apartment.

"If Jango is indeed involved in this plot to kill the Senator, Boba will be handed over to the Senate and placed with a family." Buffy nodded her head knowing _that_ would not go over well with the boy. When they got to the door Obi-Wan located the locks again and waved his hand under them. There was an audible 'click' and the door slid open.

"You're so going to have to teach me to do that," Buffy said under her breath as she followed Obi-Wan into the room. Obi-Wan stopped only a few feet into the room and looked around.

"Looks like someone was in a hurry," Buffy said as they looked over the room. There was stuff all over the place; it looked as if it had been ransacked, or packed up in a hurry.

"It does," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Buffy followed Obi-Wan as he made his way into the room, both of them looked around at everything as he made his way to a computer screen. He looked down at the screen for a moment then punched in a few keys and what looked to be a security camera picture of Jango and Boba came on screen.

"Where are they?" Buffy asked, watching the two on screen.

"North landing port," Obi-Wan answered after a moment. He turned and walked back towards the door. "We'll have to hurry if we hope to catch them in time."

"Don't worry about me keeping up," Buffy said as they set off at a run. "I could keep up with you any day." She smirked at him as they ran down the hall. It didn't take them long to find the right port. Obi-Wan looked down at her before they got to the doors and Buffy shook her head, she could see just what he was thinking.

"Don't even think it," she said, taking the lead so she was a foot in front of him now. Obi-Wan had no time to argue with her as they ran through the doors. Boba turned and spotted them after only a few seconds.

"Dad!! Look!" Boba called, pointing them out to the bounty hunter.

"Boba, get on board!" Jango called before he rocketed up and over both Buffy and Obi-Wan. Boba nodded his head, running up the ramp into the ship. Jango pulled out his blaster as Obi-Wan pulled out his lightsaber and Buffy went for her blaster. He fired twice and both of them Obi-Wan easily deflected with his lightsaber. She fired twice, hitting him both times, but doing no damage; the shots seemed to bounce right off him.

A blast fired from the ship hit only a few feet in front of them sending them both flying. Buffy landed a few feet away from Obi-Wan. There was a bruise on her hip now, or would be soon she was sure. She jumped up just in time to see Obi-Wan tackle Jango, sending them both flying backwards. She holstered her blaster, it would be no good with Obi-Wan in the way anyway. She spotted Obi-Wan's lightsaber and ran towards it. As she bent to pick up the lightsaber, it flew into her hands. She was not used to that at all.

Buffy watched as Jango turned his rocket pack on and flew up into the air. Obi-Wan lost his grip and fell back to the landing port smacking his head on the ground hard. Jango landed just a few feet away from him and even through the pounding of the rain she could hear him laughing.

"Powerful Jedi," he said, shaking his head. Then he said something Buffy didn't understand but she was sure it was an insult.

"Well," Buffy said, turning on the lightsaber, hoping she could work with it. "I bet you've never met a slayer before."

"Slayer?" Jango said, turning to look at her; even through the armor Buffy got the feeling that he was not impressed.

"I've so killed worse things than you before," Buffy said, turning the saber back and forth in her hand as she got the feel of it, the weight and length of it. Something about it felt just a little off and Buffy attributed that to the fact that it wasn't _her_ weapon.

"I wouldn't count on it girly," Jango said, drawing his blaster and firing at her. She blocked the shot with the lightsaber and was a little surprised, but tried not to let it show.

"You're going to have to do better than that," she said, blocking and then jumping out of the way of his next two shots. He shot and she blocked them a few more times. When she thought she was close enough she reached out with her hand and his blaster flew towards her.

"Not so powerful now, huh?" Buffy asked, tucking the blaster in the back of her pants as she walked towards him. "Now just come quietly and—" Another blast cut her off and sent her flying as Boba fired from the ship. 'Rotten little kid,' she thought, standing back up. She looked around and Jango was gone and she'd dropped the lightsaber. When she saw it a few feet away she reached out for it but gasped in surprise when something wrapped itself around her wrist and pulled. She went flying back and then was being pulled along the wet ground.

Buffy brought her other arm up and took hold of the metal rope then flipped herself around so her feet were going first now, almost as if she were water skiing. It was hard to get a grip on the wet ground but she finally did; she gave a strong tug on the rope and smiled when the shock wave hit Jango and he flew in a circle then crashed into the ground. His jetpack dislodged and flew off without him and Buffy smiled. She worked on untangling the metal rope so she could go collect Jango. She was surprised when he pulled himself up, turned and fired at her with a blaster she hadn't seen he had. She didn't dodge the whole thing this time and it caught her in the shoulder.

She fell to her knees as the blistering pain singed every nerve ending in her body. She looked up as Jango walked towards her with his blaster pointed at her. She smiled at him when she saw Obi-Wan come up behind him. The pain was beginning to take its toll on her and things were starting to go a little fuzzy around the edges.

"Dad!" She heard someone yell over what sounded like a loud speaker. She watched as Jango turned around and saw Obi-Wan with his lightsaber up and waiting. But that was all she saw, the blackness overtook her and she crumpled to the floor.

-o-o-o-o-

A while into the flight to Tatooine and neither of them had said as much as three words to each other. There was an odd tension in the cockpit; it seemed to fill the air. Padme was sitting just across from him in the copilot's seat; there was an unease to her that Anakin couldn't quite read and it was beginning to worry him. Did she regret her hasty decision to go to Tatooine with him? It had been her idea, but perhaps she only felt bad about what had happened earlier that night. Padme pulled her legs up to her chest in her chair then a few seconds later lowered them again. She couldn't seem to find a comfortable position in her chair. Anakin glanced her way to find that she was watching him, she averted her eyes down to the control panel and pulled one leg up and tucked it under herself. He turned to the controls put the ship in autopilot and turned back to Padme.

"Padme." "Anakin." They both said at the same time and Padme smiled at him as she shifted in her seat so she could look up at him.

"You go first," Anakin said, hoping she was about to tell him what was wrong with her.

"Ok," she said, nodding her head once. Then she was silent for a good minute. She had something to say, Anakin was sure, by the waves of uncertainty coming off of her.

"Anakin, did you..." She trailed off as if unsure of herself and looked down at her hands.

"Padme," Anakin said, drawing her attention up to his face. "You can ask me anything, I promise."

"Did you mean what you said last night?" she asked, her voice low and in a bit of a rush. "When you said you'd do anything I asked, did you mean it?"

"Every word," Anakin said, nodding his head, a solemn look on his face. "I would do anything for you Padme, I would leave the Jedi if I had to, nothing is too much." There were tears in Padme's eyes as she stared at him, touched and torn by his words.

"Anakin, I could never ask you to give up your future for me," she said as a tear slid down her cheek. Anakin stood up and walked over to Padme kneeling in front of her, he reached out and wiped the tear from her face.

"Padme, you _are_ my future," Anakin told her, his voice a little choked up with the emotions running through him. Padme watched him for a brief moment before falling forward into his arms. The tension in her body seemed to drain away as Anakin wrapped his arms around her. She pulled away only far enough that she could look him in his eyes.

"It seems so selfish of me, to ask you to give up-"

"Shh," Anakin said, placing a finger over her lips. "It is an easy choice."

"Anakin, I love you," she said and Anakin felt some kind of a weight lift from his shoulders at those words. Something he had been holding for a very long time was gone, fear.

"I love you too," he said, bringing his face to hers. She sighed as their lips met again but as if for the first time. There was a new electricity running between them now, a feeling that pulled on both of them. When they pulled apart, what felt like hours later but was probably only seconds, Anakin had a small grin on his face.

"I have a good feeling about this," Anakin said, taking a deep breath. He looked down at the controls in front of Padme, and looked back at her, a little sadder now. "We're almost there."

"We will find her," Padme said, taking his face into her hands. "We will."

-o-o-o-o-

"Elisa?" someone said, as light started to invade her vision. 'Oh shit! I'm not dead again am I?' she wondered as she opened her eyes a little and saw a man standing over her. It was Obi-Wan, and he looked rather worried. "Elisa?" he asked and she sighed, 'not dead.' She smiled up at him as she tried to sit up.

"What happened?" she asked, noticing that the pain was lessening already. "Did he get away?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Buffy winced and reached up to her shoulder. Well at least it wouldn't take too long to heal. "But I put a tracker on his ship; we'll be able to follow him."

"Oh, well that's good I guess," Buffy sighed as she looked around the room they were in; they must still be on Kamino.

"It is," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head as he sat back. "He will most likely lead us right to the person responsible for all this."

"Yeah," Buffy weakly agreed. She had let him get the jump on her; it was her fault he got away. What if he found the tracker or he traded ships?

"Be at ease," Obi-Wan told her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It is not your fault he got away."

"Aw man, I so had him," she told him, a miserable tone in her voice.

"We will find him," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head, a small smile on his lips.

"Um...I used your lightsaber, sorry," Buffy said, looking down at her hands.

"It's ok," Obi-Wan said, rubbing his head a little. "Had I not knocked myself out, I would have been there to help you."

"Well, I think Jango had a little bit to do with that," Buffy said, smirking at him a little.

"Yes, well." Obi-Wan stood up from the bed and smiled down at her.

"It felt a little funny," she said and Obi-Wan looked down at her. "Like it didn't quite fit in my hands."

"Yes, that can happen when using someone else's lightsaber. When you make your own..." He trailed off as her eyes lit up on the words 'your own' and he sighed. "If you make your own, it will be a perfect fit."

"Right, I knew that's what you meant," Buffy said, smiling at him a little. "Wish the little guy would make up his mind, I hate limbo."

"Give the council time," Obi-Wan said. She held back the eye roll as she nodded her head. "Rest here, we'll leave in the morning."

"What?" Buffy asked, swinging her feet over the bed and wincing a little. "We've got to go now; he could be miles away by now!"

"We will leave in the morning, your shoulder needs time to heal and-"

"I'm a fast healer, we can't let him get away," Buffy said, taking a deep breath as Obi-Wan put his hand on her good shoulder and sat back down on the bed.

"Be that as it may, you will not be fully healed even tomorrow, and I need you at your best. You're lucky we're going in the morning." He smirked at her a little and she nodded. "Rest and heal, we will go in the morning."

"Alright," Buffy said nodding her head. "But I don't like this." Obi-Wan nodded his head, walking out the door.

"Nor do I," he whispered, looking back at the door to her room.

-o-o-o-

It was still dark on Tatooine when Anakin landed the shiny silver starship in Mos Espa's landing bay. Padme wasn't sure where they were going but Anakin seemed to have something in mind as they left the landing bay and Anakin hailed a droid cab. He helped Padme in, then sat down next to her and the droid looked back at them.

"Watto's shop, please," Anakin said and Padme smiled; of course, why hadn't she thought of that? The little droid beeped and nodded its little head and then they were off. Anakin pulled out a datapad and turned it on as they rode.

"It's still early," he said, looking to Padme. "Watto won't be up yet."

"You're not planning on waiting are you?" Padme asked as Anakin went back to the datapad. He looked back up at her and smiled.

"No." He shook his head as the familiar sights and sounds of early morning in Mos Espa started to surround him. "Watto never had a problem waking me early, time to return the favor." It was a short ride and Anakin helped Padme out when they stopped.

"Wait here," he said to the droid, who nodded its head. Anakin walked up to Watto's door and pounded on it. They waited a moment and when there was no sound, Anakin knocked again, louder this time. After a few minutes there was a crashing sound inside and then a loud curse.

"Coming," a raspy voice called. They waited a few moments till Watto opened the door and looked them over. His eyes lingered on Anakin for a long moment.

"You look like a Jedi. Whatever it is... I didn't do it," Watto said in Huttese, shaking his head slowly, his eyes still searching over Anakin.

"I'm looking for Shmi Skywalker," Anakin said, picking up the Huttese again easily. Watto's eyes got big as he looked from Anakin to Padme and back again. Padme could easily see the suspicion in his eyes.

"Annie?? Little Annie?? Naaah!!" he said, shaking his head, still not convinced. After a moment his eyes seem to clear and he nodded. "You are Annie! It is you! Ya sure sprouted! Weehoo! A Jedi! Waddya know? Hey, maybe you couldda help wit some deadbeats who owe me a lot of money-"

"My mother," Anakin said, his patience wearing thin. Watto nodded his head rubbing his chin in thought.

"Oh, yeah. Shmi... she's not mine no more. I sold her," Watto said, clearly a little afraid of Anakin now.

"Sold her?" Anakin asked and Watto nodded his head again, a little faster this time.

"Years ago. Sorry, Annie, but you know, business is business. Sold her to a moisture farmer named Lars. Least I think it was Lars. Believe it or not, I heard he freed her and married her. Can ya beat that?!"

"Do you know where they are?" Anakin asked, thinking about everything that could happen to her out there. The first and foremost thing in his thoughts was the Tuskens.

"Long way from here... someplace over on the other side of Mos Eisley, I think..." He trailed off and looked up at Anakin.

"I'd like to know," Anakin told him, making it clear if he knew what was good for him, he'd find out. Watto moved back into the shop and started to look around.

"Yeah... sure... absolutely. Let me find my records. Come in, come in," he said and Anakin and Padme walked in. The shop had gone downhill since Anakin had last been there. Watto was obviously not doing well, probably never recovered from his lost bet on the podraces.

"Here they are," Watto said, pulling a datapad out of a pile of junk. He handed it to Anakin nodding his head. "Cliegg Lars, he has a moisture farm on the other side of Mos Eisley, yeah, yeah, just like I said."

"Thanks," Anakin said, pocketing the datapad and turning to Padme. "Let's go." She nodded her head and they walked out the doors. She reached over and took his hand into hers squeezing it lightly.

"We'll get there in time, don't worry Anakin," she assured him. He turned and looked at her, all the worry was very clear in his eyes. He gave her a weak smile and nodded his head.

-o-o-o-o-

-Dream-

Buffy was standing on a wide ridge looking out over a wide crater. It looked like the ground in front of her had just fallen into itself. Buffy looked to her right and saw a small green sign; it said 'Welcome to Sunnydale' on it. A sob caught in her throat as she realized what she was looking at, this must be Sunnydale, or what's left of it. How many of them had made it out? How many of them were ok? All she had to go on was Doyle's word, and the only person he mentioned by name was Dawn.

"I miss you so much Buffy." A voice floated to her on the breeze, a breeze which had not been there a moment ago. "It's so hard without you here, everything is so different." The voice grew closer and Buffy realized she knew who it was.

"Xander is working with Giles, they're rebuilding the Watchers Council, you'd be so proud of him Buffy," Dawn said and Buffy could hear the tears in her sister's voice. Everything around Buffy began to shift and change as Dawn continued to talk. "Willow has a place of her own with Kennedy, they seem really happy together."

"Dawnie?" A voice called and now Buffy was standing in a large graveyard. In front of her there was a grave marker and on the other side of it sat Dawn. She had tears on her face but didn't move to wipe them away.

"Just a second," she called over her shoulder, masking her voice so whoever it was couldn't tell she was crying. "Angel came by a few months ago, he left you something." Buffy walked around the front so she could look at the grave marker. Nailed to the front with some kind of a metal hook was a silver chain with a cross on it; it looked just like the first one he'd ever given her.

"Spike's doing good," Dawn went on, taking a shuttered breath. "He called as soon as he reappeared at Angel's, he couldn't wait to see you." She broke down into silent sobs again as she shook her head. "He didn't know you were gone, how could he?" Buffy wished with all her might that she could reach out and hold Dawn, to tell her that she was ok, that she was helping someone new now. But she knew this was just a dream, and that Dawn wasn't really there.

"There are so many slayers now, Buffy," Dawn said, smiling a little now. "All over the world they're popping up. We've tipped the scale for sure now." Dawn reached out and ran her hand down the smooth white stone. "I love you Buffy, you will never be forgotten." Down stood up and walked away from the grave and Buffy watched her go as tears of her own slid down her cheeks.

"She misses you." Buffy whipped around at the voice and came face to face with Doyle.

"Doyle?" Buffy asked, her voice full of shock. "What-"

"Go to her, tell her good-bye, the PTB's are giving you a final wish."

"What?" Buffy asked shocked further.

"Go!" He said disappearing. Buffy turned and walked towards Dawn who was now standing in the graveyard, but she seemed to be shrouded by a thick fog.

"Xander?" Dawn called, looking around in the fog.

"Dawn?" Buffy whispered the word but Dawn turned around anyway.

"Buffy?" She asked, shaking her head. "Am I losing it?"

"No Dawnie, it's really me," Buffy said as tears ran down her cheeks and she smiled.

"But you're-"

"Dead?" Buffy cut her off when she was only two feet away. "Well you know me and death. I came to...The PTB's, they're just giving me a chance to say goodbye," Buffy said, still not sure if this was real or not. She had to say it, even if it wasn't.

"Oh Buffy!" Dawn said, flinging herself on her sister. Buffy was a little surprised that she didn't go through her like a proper ghost. "Please don't go!" Dawn cried into her shoulder. "I don't think I can do this without you."

"Dawn," Buffy said, pulling her back so she could look her in the eyes. "I love you, that will never change, someday we'll be together again, have faith in that."

"But-"

"You've grown up so much," Buffy told her, reaching out and pushing a piece of Dawn's long brown hair back. "Help everyone; I know you're strong, stronger than me I think. You can do this; after all, you're a Summers, and Summers women never give up."

"I miss you Buffy," Dawn told her, pushing her long brown hair back out of her face. "We all miss you so much."

"I miss you too, baby sister," Buffy said, nodding her head. Something inside her told her she didn't have much more time. "I love you Dawn, be strong! Tell everyone, tell them I love them!"

"I will Buffy," Dawn said as Buffy began to fade. "I will!"

"Dawn!" Buffy cried as she sat up in bed, gasping for breath. There wasn't enough air in the room, she was sure, as the heart breaking sobs began to fill her.

"Elisa?" Obi-Wan asked as he ran into her room throwing the lights on. She looked up at him and everything inside her shattered. The wall she had been working on putting up over the last few weeks fell in an instant.

"Oh God!" she cried, shaking her head as tears fell down her face. "They're gone, all of them." She began to rock herself a little as Obi-Wan hurried over to her bed.

"Elisa?" he asked and she just shook her head as hard painful sobs erupted out of her tiny frame. Finally, not knowing what else to do, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her. She balled into him, burying her head in his shoulder as the tears continued. He held onto her as the tears raged through her making her whole body shake with them. After a while the tears subsided into quiet sighs and little hitches of breath. He realized after awhile that she had cried herself back to sleep. He looked down at her; she was clutching his sleeping shirt like it was some kind of lifeline. He wouldn't be able to move her without waking her, and, he knew, whatever had just happened she deserved a good night's sleep. So he put his feet up on the bed and leaned back against the wall. He had a feeling she would be the only one sleeping though.

-o-o-

When Buffy opened her eyes they stung a little and Buffy couldn't remember why. She became aware that her hands were gripping something in a death grip and unwrapped them from the fabric she was holding. They hurt too, as if they had been clenching the fabric for half the night. She could feel something moving up and down; someone was breathing, someone who wasn't her.

"Sleep ok?" Obi-Wan asked and she sprang back in surprise. She could see the worry in his eyes and his tone had held so much compassion. It was then that her dream came flooding back to her, and Obi-Wan. He had been there, when had he shown up, she couldn't quite remember? There was something in his eyes, some kind of understanding and it made Buffy's eyes begin to water again.

"Oh," he said quietly, a small smile on his face. "Now, don't do that again, you'll wear yourself out." He reached over and wiped a tear off her face, surprising her further. She nodded her head and took a deep breath.

"Thank you," she said, an uneasy smile on her face. He could understand that, it was hard to show someone you've only known a while your weak side.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked out of habit. Whenever Anakin had had a nightmare as a boy they had talked it out, trying to decipher its meaning.

"I think...I think the PTB gave me a chance to say goodbye last night," Buffy said thinking back over the dream. In her heart, if not so clearly in her mind, she knew it had been real. She knew that for those brief moments she had been back on earth, had gotten to say goodbye to her sister. A bright smile overtook her face and she laughed. "I got to tell Dawn goodbye."

"The PTBs they're..."

"Like the living force," Buffy said, nodding her head. "I've learned in my many years, that everyone calls it something different, but really, it's all the same." She stood up from the bed and rolled her shoulder back and forth a few times, then nodded. "Ah, see, good as new." She walked over to where her cloak was laying and picked it up. "Let's blow this popsicle stand." Buffy laughed out loud at the look on Obi-Wan's face, he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Let's get out of here," she clarified for him. He stood up, nodding his head, now understanding. "I do believe we have a baddy to catch and a mystery to unravel."

-o-o-

"Ok," Buffy said, nodding her head slowly after they came out of hyperspace. "I think I'm getting a little more used to that." She took a deep breath and was proud of the fact that she wasn't gripping the side of the ship for dear life.

"It gets a little better every time," Obi-Wan told her. All she could see was the back of his head but she was sure he was smirking. Buffy looked around them and could see off in the distance there was a planet surrounded by what looked to be an asteroid field. It looked a little troublesome and Buffy felt a little of the worry seep back into her.

"Where are we?" she asked after a few seconds.

"We are in orbit around Geonosis," Obi-Wan said, punching in a few things on his control panel. "Jango is definitely here, and has been for a little while."

"Ok," Buffy glared down at the planet. "Let's go say hi."

"On our way," Obi-Wan said, pulling the ship out of the hyperspace ring and setting off towards the planet. "How's your shoulder feel?"

"Good as new," she told him, looking down at her shoulder. "Well, almost anyway. This is so going to scar," Buffy muttered to herself, shaking her head. "Like I don't have enough of those."

"There's an unusual concentration of Federation ships over there," Obi-Wan said, pulling Buffy out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw the cluster of ships.

"What does that mean and is it going to get in our way of capturing Jango?" she asked, trying to think up different strategies of capture.

"I'm not sure," Obi-Wan said, flying them a little bit away from the Federation ships, "and it's a possibility." And again Buffy imagined he was probably smirking. He had an odd sense of humor sometimes, she thought, smirking herself.

"Well, let's find out," she told him, looking forward to a rematch with Jango.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Well, there it is," Anakin said, looking at the homestead in the distance. The early morning sun shone sharply off the sand as it rose off in the distance. Anakin studied the house intently for a moment. If this Lars had anything to do with what was happening to his mother... But there was something deep down that told him that was not the problem here.

"Stay with the ship, Artoo," Padme said, turning to look at the little droid. It beeped and Padme nodded her head. Padme reached over and took Anakin's hand and rubbed her thumb along the back of his hand. "Come on."

It didn't take them long to walk down to the house. It was just beginning to heat up outside when Anakin raised his hand and knocked on the door. There was a noise from the other side of the door. After a moment the door came open and they found themselves looking at what seemed to be an unfinished droid.

"Ah, good morning, how may I be of service? I am See-"

"Threepio?" Anakin asked, astonishment lacing his voice.

"Oh my!" C-3PO said throwing his hands up in the air. "The maker! Master Anakin! I knew you would come back someday!" He looked from Anakin to Padme and nodded. "And this must be Padme!"

"Hello Threepio," Padme said, nodding her head.

"I've come to see my mother," Anakin said, looking a little bit past Threepio into the house.

"Oh, yes. You should come in," C-3PO said ushering them into the house and closing the door behind them. They didn't make it very far into the house before a man in a wheelchair rolled in.

"Master Cliegg, I present two guests," C-3PO said, gesturing back to Anakin and Padme. "This is Anakin Skywalker and Padme."

"I'm looking for my mother," Anakin said, looking down at Cliegg. Cliegg took a deep breath and nodded his head.

"Come in, we should talk," he said, rolling back and then into the other room. Anakin looked down at Padme who squeezed his hand and nudged him a little to start him moving.

"Shmi is my wife," Cliegg told them when they entered the kitchen. He looked up at Anakin and sighed. "I had hoped to meet you under...different circumstances."

"What's happened?" Anakin asked, walking farther into the room. "Where is she?"

"Your mother had gone out early, like she always did, to pick mushrooms that grow on the vaporators. This was almost a month ago. From the tracks, she was about halfway home when they took her. Those Tuskens walk like men, but they're vicious, mindless monsters. Thirty of us went out after her. Four of us came back. I'd be with them, only... after I lost my leg I just couldn't ride any more... until I heal," he told them and Anakin could hear the shame in his voice. He blamed himself, just as Anakin blamed himself too. For a while no one said anything. Anakin looked over at Padme who was still holding his hand; she looked a little scared, but not for herself. Finally Anakin nodded his head and stood up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Cliegg asked, looking from him to Padme; they both knew the answer.

"To find my mother," Anakin said simply. He walked out of the kitchen and went up to the top of the house.

"You can't let him go after those things," Cliegg said, looking at Padme, pleading with her. "He'll die for sure." Padme nodded her head and stood up.

"Alone, maybe." She turned to the stairs then back to him. "We'll need a doctor for sure when we get back."

"If you come back at all," Cliegg said, shaking his head in defeat.

"A doctor," Padme told him before she headed up the stairs after Anakin. She found him standing out in the sun, looking out over the sand. She was sure he heard her approach but he didn't turn to look at her.

"I have to go Padme," he said, lowering his head. "I have to at least try."

"I know you do," Padme said, nodding her head as she walked up behind him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and looked up at him. "But I'll be damned if I'm going to lose you after I just got you." Anakin looked down at her in confusion. "I'm going with you," she said, nodding her head. He opened his mouth to argue, to convince her to stay but she put her fingers over his lips and shook her head.

"Nothing you can say will make me stay, Anakin." She remover her hand and brushed his hair back a little then tugged on his Padawan braid. "Whatever is out there we'll face, together. Otherwise, Jedi powers or no, you're not going. I won't let you face that alone."

Anakin reached up and put his palm on her cheek sliding his thumb over her cheekbone. He nodded his head, a reluctant look in his eyes. He took a deep breath and looked back out to the sandy horizon. The sun was just barely in the sky now; it was still early morning. They had time, Padme was sure of it.

"You can take my speeder bike," Cliegg said, startling them both. They turned to look at him; neither of them had heard him come out. "I hope you know what you're doing out there," he said, looking out into the sand as Anakin had.

"We'll find her," Anakin said, nodding his head in confidence. "And I'll bring her home." Cliegg nodded his head, trying to keep the hope from rising. It would only be crushed again soon he was sure.

"We're coming, Mom," Anakin whispered to the wind as they turned to follow Cliegg to his speeder bike. "Just hold on a little longer."

A/N- So what do we think? How am I doing? I hope you all liked how I left things with Anakin and Padme. It was a really hard bit for me to do, but I think it turned out ok...We'll what do you think? Let me know!

Top of Form


	5. Darkness to Light

Chapter Five -o- Darkness to Light

Buffy had no trouble keeping up with Obi-Wan on the steep, narrow trail. She was just happy she didn't have a fear of heights. Not that she had looked down into that deep dark hole below them, that would have been stupid. They both stopped at the same time when something not too far away from them howled into the cool air. Buffy took a small step backwards, trying to figure out where the sound had come from and lost her footing. Obi-Wan grabbed her arm before her foot had even slipped over the side of the cliff; she looked up at him and smiled in thanks. They both waited for another howl but heard nothing.

"Thank you," Buffy mouthed silently to him. He nodded his head and turned back to the trail. They came to a very narrow, very scary looking corner, with hardly any trail at all and he looked back at her.

"No big," Buffy mouthed again, grinning despite the gut twisting fear seeping into her mind. So maybe she had a teeny tiny fear of heights. You take a nose dive off a four storey tower into a hell portal and see what kinds of fears you end up with. Obi-Wan nodded his head then made his way around the corner, quite easily, Buffy noted.

Buffy rounded it just after him, staying as close to the wall as she could, to find him knocked to the ground by a very large, very mean looking lizard thing. Buffy heard Obi-Wan's lightsaber activate and then the lizard thing was dead. Buffy turned, kicking out as she went; her foot connected with the jaw of a second lizard thing, knocking it to the floor. It stood again quickly then jumped at her, its mouth wide open for a big bite. Buffy caught it by its open mouth this time with both her hands, trying to avoid the teeth. She pulled backwards on both parts of the jaw, snapping it in half. It fell to the floor with a 'thud.'

"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan whispered, coming up behind her. She heard his lightsaber go off and nodded her head.

"I'll live," she said, looking down at her hands. Some of its teeth had caught her hand and she was bleeding a little. "What are those things?"

"They're called Massiffs," Obi-Wan told her, looking down at her hands. "You made quick work of it."

"Yeah, I don't take well to things trying to eat me," Buffy intoned sarcastically, smiling at him. "You alright?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. He turned and looked down the trail. "This way." She nodded her head and followed after him silently. She cursed herself when she looked down to the bottom of the cliff, again.

-o-o-o-

"Annie?" Padme asked when Anakin rejoined her and the speeder bike. He had been asking a few Jawas if they knew the whereabouts of the Sand people's camp. They had given him a vague idea of where it was, but they didn't know for sure.

"I can find it," Anakin said as Padme climbed back onto the bike behind Anakin.

"She's not too far from here, I can feel her." Padme could feel the tension in his shoulders and leaned into him.

"Anakin, relax, let those feelings guide you, she'll be ok," Padme said, kissing him gently on the cheek. Anakin looked back at her and nodded his head.

"Thank you," he said, a hopeful smile on his face. "Hold on," he said. She wrapped her arms around his stomach before he set off again.

-o-o-o-

"This is so cliché," Buffy whispered, rolling her eyes as she looked around the large hallway, carved stone pillars holding up the cave walls. "The bad guys always go with the 'dark and creepy' don't they?" Obi-Wan looked back at her, a slightly amused look on his face.

"Of all the 'bad guys' I've dealt with, yes," he whispered, nodding his head. Buffy smirked and continued to take in their surroundings, looking for all avenues of escape, just in case.

"I-"

Buffy was cut off when Obi-Wan's hand covered her mouth quickly and pulled her behind a large pillar, into the deep shadows.

"I want her head on a platter," Nute Gunray said as they turned the corner into the hallway Buffy and Obi-Wan were in. Buffy couldn't see who was talking, and for some reason Obi-Wan hadn't moved his hand yet, so she just stood there and listened.

"She will be found, Viceroy." Obi-Wan's whole body stiffened at the new voice and Buffy wondered if he recognized it. "She is no longer on Naboo. Jango had someone on her tail, hers and the Jedi Padawan, but he's lost them." Buffy could now feel Obi-Wan's worry for Anakin, where were they? What had happened? Had Anakin caught wind of the tail? Buffy was a little startled by all these thoughts, seeing as none of them had been hers. She looked up at Obi-Wan and knew they must be coming from him; had she really heard them or had she just imagined it?

"I am a man of my word, Sir." Buffy bristled at Jango's voice; instinct told her to get him while she had the advantage and she found herself trying to take a step, but couldn't. And it occurred to her that that might be why Obi-Wan was still holding her back. Had he known she would react that way, how? "You will see the end of her."

"Soon." Nute Gunray's voice was rather far away now and Buffy and Obi-Wan came out from behind the pillar a little as the three of them rounded a corner. There was a confused, almost sad look on Obi-Wan's face as he watched the corner they had just disappeared around.

"What?" Buffy asked in a very low voice, forgetting for a moment about Jango.

"That, was Count Dooku," Obi-Wan said, his voice a little odd.

"Dooku? Not the guy in the archives? Qui-Gon's-"

"Yes, Qui-Gon's master," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. They were both silent for a moment then Obi-Wan shook his head. "Come, we will follow them, perhaps we can bring an end to this threat." Buffy nodded her head as she followed him down the hallway. When they rounded the corner, after making sure the coast was clear, they come to a part in the hallway, they could either go on forward, or up the stairs to the left. Obi-Wan looked back and forth between them, then started up the stairs.

For a moment Buffy considered going straight, following Dooku and Jango. This whole 'information gathering' thing was not her thing. She knew Jango was in there, could feel him somehow. She wanted to get this over and done with. Obi-Wan was about one fourth of the way up when he realized she wasn't right behind him. He turned around and watched as she stared straight ahead, towards the room Dooku and Jango were in. He could feel her indecision, her need for confrontation. He eased forward a little, ready to jump down and stop her if needed, but it wasn't. She took a deep breath and headed up the stairs.

"Let's go," she mouthed to him, passing him up the stairs. He nodded and turned and followed her up the stairs. They came to a kind of balcony that overlooked a long table down below. There were around ten people sitting at the table, with Dooku at the head. There were a few very odd looking people down there, three of them had wings, wings. And the odd things just kept piling up.

"Now is the time, my friends," Dooku said, looking around at everyone. Buffy could tell by his voice that not one of these people were his friends. "This is the moment when you have to decide between the Republic or the Confederacy of Independent Systems." Buffy was taking notes in her mind. She knew Padme worked for the Republic, but what was this Confederacy of Independent Systems? She'd have to remember to ask Obi-Wan when she got a chance. One thing she knew, they couldn't be the good guys.

"Some of them are senators of the republic," Obi-Wan whispered, as he pointed out a few of the people. Senators, like Padme, willing to betray their government, how typical. Buffy nodded and they both looked back down to listen.

"As I explained to you earlier, I'm quite convinced that ten thousand more systems will rally to our cause with your support, gentlemen. And let me remind you of our absolute commitment to capitalism...of the lower taxes, the reduced tariffs, and the eventual abolition of all trade barriers. Signing this treaty will bring you profits beyond your wildest imagination. What we are proposing is completely free trade." He paused and looked over at Nute Gunray and smiled thinly. "Our friends in the Trade Federation have pledged their support. When their Battle Droids are combined with yours, we shall have an army greater than anything in the galaxy; the Jedi will be overwhelmed. The Republic will agree to any demands we make." Buffy rolled her eyes; man, this guy was longwinded.

"I am authorized by the Corporate Alliance to sign the treaty," someone from down the table said. Dooku looked over at him and nodded his head once.

"We are most grateful for your cooperation, Chairman." Geez, these people were just going to play right into the evil guys' hands.

"The Commerce Guilds do not at this time wish to become openly involved, but we shall support you in secret - and look forward to doing business with you." Buffy nodded her head, tucking that bit of information away for later use. Buffy could see how frustrated Obi-Wan was getting; she wasn't sure where it was coming from but she was sure it had something to do with Dooku.

"That is all we ask." Dooku said, a slight smirk on his face as he surveyed the rest of them.

"The Intergalactic Banking Clan will support you wholeheartedly, but only in a non-exclusive arrangement," a tall thin grey alien said, nodding his head thoughtfully.

"The Techno Unions are at your disposal, Count," a large half metal alien said looking to Dooku. Obi-Wan sighed and backed away from the ledge; Buffy followed. For some reason she got the feeling they were 'checking in' again and she sighed. Things would be so much easier if they did things her way; at least, she thought so.

-o-o-o-o-

"Can we get down there without being seen?" Padme asked as they looked down over a cliff. Below them, there was a small camp; smoke billowed up out of the little huts. There were Sand People everywhere, working, moving about, doing things. Padme could feel Anakin's anger and fear bubbling up inside of him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled as some of it eased away.

"We have to, we don't have time to wait for nightfall." Anakin pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked over the camp. "There," he said, pointing it out as he handed Padme the binoculars. "The hut with the two Tuskens guarding it. That must be where they have her." Padme found it and nodded her head; why take her to begin with, and why guard her at all, as if she could escape. She continued to look around, trying to find a safe route to get there. Padme took a deep breath and looked from the huts below to Anakin; he looked so worried, so lost.

"Anakin," she said, drawing his attention to her face. "Is there anything you could do?" she asked easing away from the cliff a little. "I mean, you can float things, is there…anything else that might help us?" Anakin looked away from her, back down to the huts. There was something he could try, something he had never really had a chance to practice yet.

"There might be," he said, easing back away from the cliff too. He looked up at her and then down at his hands. "I might be able to cloud their minds, so they can't, or don't see us." He looked back up at her and sighed. "But there are a lot of them; I don't think I could do it to all of them."

"Just the ones in our way," Padme said, nodding her head. This could work; she believed in his power and knew he could do this.

"I just don't know if-"

"You can do it Anakin, I know you can." She leaned forward and laid a soft kiss on his cheek. "I believe in you." Anakin nodded his head and crawled back over to the edge.

"We'll have to find a way down there," he said, looking down at the huts again.

-o-o-o-o-

"Are you worried about Anakin?" Buffy asked quietly as they made their way back to the ship. Obi-Wan looked down at her for a moment then shook his head. "He must have had a good reason for going." Buffy went on, wondering, as Obi-Wan was, what that reason was.

"Anakin always has good reasons for disobeying me," Obi-Wan said, but Buffy caught the hint of a smile and nodded her head.

"I bet you always did just what Qui-Gon told you to, didn't you?" Buffy asked, a light mocking tone to her voice now; better he be laughing at her than worrying about Anakin. "I bet you hold some kind of Padawan award for good behavior."

"I was not...as well behaved as that," Obi-Wan said, looking down at her now. There was something in his eyes now, something sad, but also mischievous, and Buffy had to know what he was talking about.

"Oh really?" Buffy teased, looking up at him, a small smile on her face. "So tell me, you got into a lot of trouble, did you? Running around the temple getting into fights?"

"No," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. Though he had a very vivid memory of Anakin running through the halls chasing after a training droid he had fiddled with. "But I am not totally ignorant to the feeling Anakin is fighting with; I understand better than he would like to think." Buffy opened her mouth to ask him which feeling of Anakin's he was talking about when the starship came into view. "There it is," Obi-Wan said, looking down at Buffy before he jogged over to the ship and opened the cockpit.

-o-o-

"I think it's working," Padme said in an almost silent whisper. They had now passed two Tuskens without any kinds of problems. Anakin was keeping them hidden, and doing a damn good job of it too. Anakin didn't reply as they continued forward, he didn't want to break his concentration. When they were behind the right hut, he pulled out his lightsaber and cut a long hole in the back of the hut. Padme followed him in and stopped short at what she saw. Shmi was tied to some kind of a wooden frame, there were cuts all up and down her face and body; she looked almost dead. Anakin rushed to her side, cutting the ropes that bound her hands.

She fell limply into his arms. Padme crouched down next to him and smiled as Shmi opened her eyes.

"Mom?" Anakin whispered, tears running down his face in streams. "I'm so sorry, mom."

"Annie?" Her voice was horse and weak. Padme took one of her other hands and hoped that Cliegg got the Doctor like she told him to. "Is that you?"

"It's me, mom, I'm here." Anakin pulled her close and Shmi nodded her head. "Hang on; I'm going to get you out of here."

"Oh Annie, my little Annie." She reached up with her hand and touched his cheek. "How much you've grown. So handsome, I'm so proud of you," she said, her eyes fluttering a little. Anakin looked worriedly to Padme.

"I love you," Shmi said, before her eyes fluttered closed.

"Mom?" Anakin's voice came out in a choked sob.

"Anakin," Padme said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "She's ok, just unconscious, we have to-"

"They'll pay," Anakin said, gently lifting his mom up and setting her with Padme. "They will!" He growled this out as he stood up and his lightsaber flashed on.

"Anakin!" Padme called, moving Shmi very lightly; she set her head down softly on the ground. Anakin didn't even turn as he headed to the door. "Anakin Skywalker!" Padme shouted, her voice still in a whisper, she didn't want the Tuskens to know they were there. This time Anakin paused and turned a little. Padme hurried over to him placing her hands on his arm. "Annie," Padme pleaded with him. "You don't want to do this, I know they hurt your mom, they-"

"Deserve to die, every last one of them!" Anakin said, shaking his head, a rage flooding through him, pain and anger the likes of which Padme had never seen before. There was something in his eyes, something Padme didn't recognize, but it wasn't him.

"Anakin, listen to me, you don't want to do this, it's not your way." Padme's eyes began to water as she thought about just what he wanted to do. "Your mom, she wouldn't want this, you know she wouldn't." Padme looked back at his mom and was happy to see his eyes follow hers. "We have to get her out of here, now, to a doctor," Padme said, reaching up with her other hand and placing it on his hand, the one holding the lightsaber. "Anakin, please?" Something in her tone made Anakin look at her; his eyes had a scary yellow tint to them and Padme ran her other hand down his face. Anakin blinked a few times and looked into Padme's eyes, then to his mother. The anger drained away slowly and Padme sighed in relief when his eyes were fully blue again.

"I'm-"

"Not now," Padme said, rushing back over to Shmi. "We have to hurry." Anakin shut his lightsaber off and put it away then hurried over to his mother's side. "Can you cover all three of us?"

"Yes," Anakin said, all doubt gone from his voice now. He bent down and gathered Shmi into his arms gently. Padme hurried to the hole in the hut and held it open for him. As soon as they were out, Anakin began to work on covering them again. The whole way back to the speeder Anakin went over what had just happened in his head. What had he almost done? What would he have done had Padme not been there? He knew the answer, and it was a very disturbing thought.

-o-o-o-o-

"Well?" Buffy asked a few minutes later. Obi-Wan was working on sending a message, but so far they weren't having any luck.

"The transmitter is working, but we're not receiving a return signal. Coruscant's too far." Obi-Wan said looking down at her. He had a thoughtful look on his face as he looked over at the droid. "Arfour, can you boost the power?" The little droid beeped a few times and Buffy smiled.

"You actually understand him?" she asked, looking at the droid.

"Of course," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Arfour beeped again and Obi-Wan sighed.

"We'll have to try something else," he told Buffy; she looked a little confused and he smiled. "Arfour doesn't have the power to boost it."

"He told you that in a few little beeps?" Buffy asked, a little amused by the droid.

"He did," Obi-Wan said, climbing off the wing into the cockpit. "If Anakin's not on Naboo, where is he?" he asked and Buffy was a little thrown by the change in topic. "We could send him the signal, have him relay it."

"Oh," Buffy said, nodding her head. There was beeping again, this time from the ship.

"What in the blazes is he doing on Tatooine?" Obi-Wan asked, jumping down out of the cockpit. "Why..." Obi-Wan trailed off and Buffy watched him curiously.

"What's on Tatooine?" Buffy asked, leaning against the ship as she watched Obi-Wan.

"His mother," Obi-Wan told her, shaking his head. Something about that bothered him, Buffy could tell, but what? Was he not supposed to see his mother either, part of the whole no love thing? She was starting to think maybe this whole 'Jedi' thing had too many rules. 'Well,' she thought, as Obi-Wan talked to Arfour, 'rules are meant to be broken.'

"I hope he gets this soon," Obi-Wan said and Buffy nodded her head. He stood in front of Arfour and nodded his head. "Begin transfer." The droid beeped and Obi-Wan began to talk to it.

-o-o-o-o-

"How?" was all Cliegg could get out as Anakin carried a still unconscious Shmi into the house. He followed close behind them looking up at Padme.

"I hope you got a doctor," she told him and he nodded his head.

"He's in the back. Anakin, two doors to the right," he told him. Anakin didn't seem to be listening but he went just where Cliegg said. "How?"

"Love," Padme told him, following after Anakin into the room.

It was a long while later and Padme was making something in the kitchen. Anakin hadn't eaten anything in a good day and a half and she knew he'd need to keep his strength up. Someone walked in and Padme turned around to see the young girl Cliegg had introduced earlier. His son's girlfriend, what was her name?

"Beru," the girl supplied, seeing Padme's obvious loss for a name.

"Sorry," Padme said, smiling at her.

"It's alright," she assured her, walking over to the counter. "Are you cooking?"

"Just a light lunch, Anakin hasn't eaten anything in a while." Padme said putting the sandwich she'd made together. She picked up the plate and the glass of juice and headed to the door.

"Padme," Beru called and Padme stopped and turned around. "Shmi is such a nice woman, I'm really glad she's ok. Would you...would you thank Anakin for us?" Padme smiled warmly at her as she nodded her head.

"I will," Padme told her before she turned and headed back to the room Anakin was in with his mom. He was slumped against the wall, sleeping in a very uncomfortable chair, just out of arms reach of the bed. Padme set the food down on the desk opposite the bed and then walked over to him.

"Annie," she said, softly touching his cheek with her finger tips. "Wake up, you need to eat."

"Padme?" he asked groggily as he started to wake up. "Hi."

"Hi." Padme said, tugging on his braid lightly. "You hungry?"

"I could eat," Anakin said, seconds before his stomach growled.

"I'd say, Anakin," she said, smiling at him. She brought the food over to him and he smiled up at her. The light, the pure joy, in his eyes now was such a stark contrast to the rage and fear in them earlier. It made her shiver a little and Anakin looked up from his food.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concern lacing his voice now.

"Fine," she said, smiling at him, if a little forced; she looked past him to his mom. "How is she?" Anakin looked over his shoulder at her and a small sigh escaped his lips.

"Dr. Manith said she'll be ok," he said, taking a deep breath. "He said if it had been a few more hours..." He trailed off and looked down at the food in front of him, suddenly not hungry any more.

"But we got to her in time," Padme said, reaching out and taking his hand. "And she's going to be fine."

"Yes, she is," Anakin said, nodding his head. "She should wake up soon," he said, looking over his shoulder at her again. "I hope-"

"Master Anakin, there is a droid here that says he belongs to you. He was quite rude about it as well, he said-"

"Threepio, where is he?" Anakin asked, interrupting him.

"I'll bring him in," Threepio told him. Anakin opened his mouth to tell him that he'd come out there but Artoo was already on his way in. He beeped quietly, obviously understanding that there was a need for quiet.

"He's got a message from Master Obi-Wan," Anakin said, sighing a little. "Which means he knows we're not on Naboo."

"He'll understand, Annie," Padme said as Anakin stood up and nodded his head.

"Well, let's see it then," Anakin said, fully expecting to be scolded for leaving Naboo. Obi-Wan came into view and the message started. They both listened silently as Obi-Wan gave them the message. Padme gasped when, near the end of the message, a Droideka rolled into the holoimage.

"Obi-Wan! Shit!" They heard a women scream as there were shots fired they couldn't see.

"Elisa!" was shouted back and the message ended.

"Oh, Annie!" Padme said, turning to look at him. He was worried, Padme could feel it.

"We'll have to go back to the ship to transfer this to Coruscant," Anakin said, keeping his eyes off his mom behind him.

"Annie?" A weak, low voice said from behind them. Anakin whipped around to face his mother. She had a small smile on her face as Anakin walked over to her.

"Go help your friends, I'll be fine," she said, her voice getting stronger with every word.

"Mom," Anakin said, every bit the scared eight year old he had been ten years ago. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Of course," she said, reaching out and running her hand down his face. "My son," she said, smiling at him. Through the cuts and bruises she shone brightly in her love for her son. "Go, help your friends, I'll be here when you can come back."

"Ok," Anakin said, nodding his head as he stood up. "I will be back," he stated, no room for doubt. She smiled at him and nodded her head as he let go of her hand.

-o-o-o-o-

Both Anakin and Padme sat in the cockpit and watched, again, as Obi-Wan relayed his message to the Jedi Council. It was all Padme could do to keep from crying. Obi-Wan's image flickered in and out as he spoke.

"Anakin, my long range transmitter has been knocked out. Retransmit this message to Coruscant." Padme nodded her head when Anakin looked to her; she had already started the transfer.

"We have tracked the bounty hunter, Jango Fett, to the droid foundries on Geonosis." Obi-Wan said looking to his left at what was probably Elisa, standing out of view.

"The Trade Federation is to take delivery of a droid army here and it is clear that Viceroy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala." Padme and Anakin met each other's eyes again at these words. At least that was one mystery solved.

"The Commerce Guilds and Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming an...Wait!...Wait!!"

"Obi-Wan!...Shit!" a women cried as shots were fired. A Droideka rolled into view and opened fire on Obi-Wan.

"Elisa!" Obi-Wan yelled back before the whole message blinked out.

"More happening on Geonosis, I feel, than has been revealed," Yoda said over the comm link. Anakin nodded his head, his worry for Obi-Wan winning out over listening closely to what the Masters were saying.

"I agree," Windu said, nodding his head as he too looked down at Yoda. "Anakin, we will deal with Count Dooku. The most important thing for you is to stay where you are. Protect the Senator at all costs. That is your first priority," he said, his voice very clear. Anakin nodded his head, even though they couldn't see him.

"Understood, Master," Anakin said as they disconnected.

"You're not really going to stay here are you?" Padme asked as she swiveled in her chair. "They'll never make it to him in time. We're just-"

"I know," Anakin said, sitting down in the other pilot's seat.

"You don't even have to break mandate," she said as a sneaky smile broke out over her face. "I'm going, and if you're going to protect me, you'll just have to come along."

"Well, when you put it that way." Anakin nodded as he set the coordinates. "Let's go."

-o-o-o-o-o-

"The Commerce Guilds are preparing for war... there can be no doubt of that," Bail said, pacing a little in front of Yoda and Palpatine.

"Count Dooku must have made a treaty with them," Palpatine agreed, nodding his head thoughtfully.

"We must stop them before they're ready," Bail said, looking from Palpatine to Yoda and back again.

"Exsueeze me, yousa honorable Supreme Chancellor, Sir. Maybe dissen Jedi stoppen the rebel army," Jar Jar said, stepping forward into the group.

"Master Yoda, how many Jedi are available to go to Geonosis?" Palpatine asked, looking down at Yoda.

"Throughout the galaxy, thousands of Jedi there are. To send on a special mission, only two hundred are available," Yoda told them, looking at each of them in turn.

"With all due respect for the Jedi Order, that doesn't sound like enough," Bail said, shaking his head, obviously in doubt of the Jedi.

"Through negotiation, the Jedi maintains peace. To start a war, we do not intend," Yoda told him, nodding his head once.

"The debate is over! Now we need that clone army-"

"Unfortunately, the debate is not over. The Senate will never approve the use of the clones before the separatists attack," Bail said, cutting off Ask Aak.

"This is a crisis! The Senate must vote the Chancellor emergency powers! He could then approve the use of the clones," Mas Amedda demanded, looking from Yoda to Jar Jar and then to Bail.

"But what Senator would have the courage to propose such a radical amendment?" Palpatine asked, looking around the room, his eyes stopping briefly on Jar Jar.

"If only Senator Amidala were here," Mas Amedda said, shaking his head sadly. Jar Jar looked between the two of them, an idea forming in his head.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Where is she?" Obi-Wan demanded as Dooku walked into the room. Obi-Wan was hanging in midair, held up by some kind of blue energy field. He hadn't seen Elisa since the droids had carried her off, her kicking and cursing the whole time.

"Hello, my friend," Dooku said, obviously ignoring Obi-Wan's question.

"Dooku," Obi-Wan said in a warning tone. "Where is she?"

"She is safe," he said, turning to look at him. Obi-Wan could almost hear the 'for now' at the end of that sentence. "May I ask why a Jedi Knight is all the way out here on Geonosis?"

"We've been tracking a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Do you know him?" Obi-Wan asked, deciding he'd get more answers playing things Dooku's way. He knew Elisa was ok, he could feel it. He'd have to have faith that she could take care of herself for the time being. Not that it took much faith, she was faster and stronger than a lot of the Knights he knew.

"There are no bounty hunters here that I'm aware of. Geonosians don't trust them," Dooku said, walking around Obi-Wan, like a predator circling its prey.

"Well, who can blame them? But he is here, I can assure you," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head.

"It's a great pity that our paths have never crossed before, Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon always spoke very highly of you. I wish he were still alive. I could use his help right now."

"Qui-Gon Jinn would never join you," Obi-Wan said, looking down at Dooku in disgust.

'You tell him,' Buffy thought as she watched Dooku circle Obi-Wan. She could see and hear everything going on in there, though it was apparent that Obi-Wan could not hear or see her. She seemed to be locked in some kind of a box force field thing. It was small and cramped and Buffy wanted out. She looked up and realized she had missed something.

"The truth," Dooku was saying now. What had she missed? "What if I told you that the Republic was now under the control of the Dark Lords of the Sith?" Oh, the Sith; Buffy hadn't come across one yet but she was sure she wouldn't like them.

"No, that's not possible. The Jedi would be aware of it," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. Something he had told her early came floating back to her. 'The dark side clouds everything now,' Obi-Wan had told her, shaking his head. 'It's getting harder to feel into the force.' The fact that the council was missing so much scared Buffy a little. This big powerful group and they were missing so much? What else had they missed?

"The dark side of the Force has clouded their vision, my friend. Hundreds of Senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious." Buffy tucked that name away in her mind in case she needed it again later. She had a lot going on in her mind now, lots of names and facts to remember; Giles would be so proud.

"I don't believe you," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head, but Buffy could feel his doubt; she knew that he knew it could be true.

"The Viceroy of the Trade Federation was once in league with this Darth Sidious. But he was betrayed ten years ago by the Dark Lord." Buffy giggled a little at 'Dark Lord' and her thoughts went to her sister for a moment; right now Dawn would be making a Harry Potter joke. "He came to me for help. He told me everything. The Jedi Council would not believe him. I tried many times to warn them but they wouldn't listen to me. Once they sensed the Dark Lord's presence, it would then be too late. You must join me, Obi-Wan, and together we will destroy the Sith." Buffy knew his plea for help was all a farce, trying to lure Obi-Wan into something.

"I will never join you, Dooku," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. Buffy nodded her head as she sat back down, she hated not being able to help Obi-Wan. She'd have to find out how these things worked, and then she'd have someone teach her how to disable them. She watched as Dooku walked out the door.

"It may be difficult to secure your release," he said, before he was gone. Buffy sighed and shook her head.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Jar Jar rose slowly into the air, the senate around him booming with voices from everywhere. Mas Amedda looked around at everyone from his spot next to Palpatine in the middle of the huge room. As Jar Jar's pod neared the center, the crowd got louder.

"Order! The Senate will accord the Representative the courtesy of a hearing!" Mas Amedda yelled, his voice, surprisingly enough, booming over the voices of everyone else. After a moment or two the senators quieted and Mas Amedda nodded his head to Jar Jar.

"In response to the direct threat to the Republic mesa propose that the Senate give immediately, emergency powers to the Supreme Chancellor." Jar Jar said his eyes going wide at the new burst of sound. Now people were cheering, and everyone was clapping. The senators went quiet again as Palpatine stood up and looked out at them.

"It is with great reluctance that I have agreed to this calling," he said, shaking his head with a sad look on his face. "I love democracy... I love the Republic. The power you give me, I will lay down when this crisis has abated, I promise you." Again the senators cheered and Palpatine nodded his head, a smile on his face now. "And as my first act with this new authority, I will create a grand army of the Republic to counter the increasing threats of the separatists." The uproar was tremendous this time, people were out of their seats cheering him. Palpatine nodded his head, looking proud but a little sad at what he'd just had to do.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"So...that went well," Anakin said, looking down at his and Padme's tied hands. The rescue had gone a little south, and they had been caught by Jango Fett. They were standing in a cart, just inside of some kind of arena. There was just light enough inside whatever room they were in to see each other. Padme looked up at him and sighed, a very worried look on her face. He shook his head, the small smile he was trying to hold onto disappeared. "We will find a way out of this," he said, looking around them.

"I hope Obi-Wan and Elisa are ok," Padme said, looking at the big doors in front of them.

"Obi-Wan is fine, I can feel it," Anakin said with dead certainty. Padme nodded her head and sighed, but what about Elisa? Both of them looked up when the cart they were in jerked forward.

"Well, here goes," Anakin said, smiling down at her. It was very forced but Padme smiled back a little too.

-o-o-o-o-

Anakin was less than surprised to see Obi-Wan tied to one of the very tall podiums in the middle of the large stadium. There were four very tall podiums in all and Elisa was at the other end of the line of them, opposite Obi-Wan. The two Geonosians pulled Anakin and Padme down from the cart and dragged them over to the two remaining podiums.

"I was beginning to wonder if you had gotten our message," Obi-Wan said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I retransmitted it as you requested, Master." Anakin looked back over at Padme who was being chained up at the moment. "Then we decided to come and rescue you guys," he said, trying to hold back the wince as the Geonosian jerked on the chain holding his arms up.

"Good job!" Obi-Wan told him sarcastically, as he nodded his head.

"You ok there, Padme?" Buffy asked. Padme had her eyes on her hands, which seemed to be fiddling with something.

"Yeah," Padme said, nodding her head. "Just give me a minute." Buffy was a little unsure as to what she was giving her a minute for but nodded her head anyway.

"The felons before you have been convicted of espionage against the Sovereign System of Geonosis. Their sentence of death is to be carried out in this public arena henceforth," Sun Fac said, raising his hand to point at the group of four below him. The crowded arena cheered and clapped.

"I really don't like these guys," Buffy said, looking up at the high balcony where there were two of the winged guys, what Buffy now knew were Geonosians, Dooku, the guy who wanted Padme dead and Jango Fett and his son. 'What kind of a father brings his son to a public execution?' Buffy thought, shaking her head.

"Done," Padme said, smiling over at Buffy. Buffy looked up and was surprised to see that Padme still had her hands up, but one of them was no longer connected to the chain.

"Let the executions begin!" Poggle yelled, raising both his arms above his head. The crowd cheered again and Buffy sighed. 'Ok, this is easy; they're just chains,' Buffy thought, taking hold of the chain at her wrists. Buffy looked to the left as three different gates on the edges of the arena opened. Big scary looking creatures came walking into the arena; they all looked very, very mean.

"Ok, this is bad," Buffy said, looking over the things; one kinda looked like a cat, kinda. The other one was part bull but with three really big horns instead of one. And the third, was what looked a little like a crab, a very, very big mean crab. There were Geonosians directing the things toward the four of them. The cat thing looked to be coming for Buffy and Padme, very slowly, as if dragging it out on purpose.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Anakin said and Buffy wholeheartedly agreed with him. She snapped the chains holding her wrists and began to climb the podium, an idea she was stealing from Padme, who was doing the same thing.

"Take the one on the right. I'll take the one on the left," Obi-Wan said, nodding to the two different animals. Anakin looked between the animals.

"What about Padme?" he asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"They seem to be on top of things," Obi-Wan said, a slight smirk to his face now. Anakin turned around to see both Padme and Elisa were now standing on the top of their podiums.

Buffy watched from her vantage point as the cat thing stalked towards them, yowling in a very odd way. She could see Obi-Wan and Anakin seemed to be doing ok with the animals they were going up against. Obi-Wan was faster than the crab thing, which was, at the moment, trying to shish-kebab him. She turned and smirked up at Dooku; they didn't seem very happy at the new turn of events. The Viceroy and Poggle seemed to be arguing about something. She looked back down just in time to see Anakin wrap his chain around the neck of the bull thing. When had he gotten free? And where was Obi-Wan?

She searched the arena and smiled when she saw him; he was having a bit of trouble with the crab thing. She winced as his podium almost flattened him but sighed in relief when Obi-Wan jumped back up off the ground.

"OW!" Padme screamed and Buffy turned to look back at her. The cat thing had taken a swipe out of Padme's back.

"Hey!" Buffy called as the cat thing fell back to the ground. "Come and get me!" she taunted, sitting down on the edge of the podium. The cat charged at the podium and jump. Just as it jumped so did Buffy, holding onto the chain she half ran, half swung around the podium. When she was close enough she brought her feet away from the podium and kicked the cat thing in the head sending it falling back to the ground. She pulled herself back up the chain and smiled. She looked down at the ground again and tried to decide who was going to need her help.

Anakin seemed to be doing ok with the bull thing; he was riding it now, kind of. But Obi-Wan seemed to be having more problems; the crab thing had just narrowly missed cutting his legs out from under him. She turned to Padme who was staring at her, looking a little surprised.

"I could have done that," Padme said, smiling at Buffy. Buffy laughed and nodded her head.

"You ok?" Buffy asked, sitting back down on the edge of the podium. Padme looked down at her back and winced a little, then she looked back up at Buffy and nodded.

"I'll be fine," she assured her, nodding her head.

"Alright," Buffy called as she shinnied down the chain onto the ground. She smiled up at Anakin as he tried to ride the bull thing; he seemed to be getting the hang of it. He nodded at her as she passed him and he tried to get the bull thing to go in the direction of Padme. Buffy came up next to Obi-Wan just after he threw a spear at the crab thing.

"How's it going?" Buffy asked over the screeching noises the crab thing was making. Obi-Wan looked momentarily surprised to see her then smiled. Buffy turned when there was another yowl from the cat thing just in time to see Anakin run it over with the bull thing. 'Well, one down,' she thought. She watched as Padme jumped from the podium, a little surprised that she would make such a jump. She blinked when Padme and Anakin kissed very briefly; she looked back to Obi-Wan, he hadn't seen it. Well, that was new.

"Run," Obi-Wan said, taking her arm as the crab thing finally removed the spear and started after them. It didn't take very long for Anakin to get to them and help them up onto the bull thing. It was a little crowded but Buffy wasn't about to complain.

"Now what?" she asked, looking around the arena. The Geonosians were going crazy, screaming and yelling down at them.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be! Jango, finish her off!" the Viceroy said, turning to Jango. Dooku shook his head and Jango nodded his.

"Patience, Viceroy... she will die," Dooku assured him as far below a group of Droidekas rolled into the arena.

"Oh not these things again," Buffy said, putting her arms around Obi-Wan's waist for fear of falling off the back. "I don't like this."

"Be patient," Obi-Wan said, keeping his eyes forward. "We are not alone."

"I know, the force is-"

"No," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head as he now turned and smiled at her. "We are not alone," he said, looking up to the balcony where Buffy could see Windu standing. She looked around and could now see Jedi hiding all around the perimeter of the arena.

"Well, now I'll get to see both of you in action," Buffy said, making Obi-Wan and Anakin chuckle lightly. She just hoped the Jedi sprung whatever plan they had before she and the rest of them got shot to bits.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

For a bounty hunter Jango Fett was surprisingly easy to sneak up on. Of course he was a Jedi and Jango was a common thief, but still. Mace Windu listened as the sound of the Droidekas stopped. They were in position now, ready to fire. Well, by now so were all of the Jedi's. Silently he pulled his lightsaber off his belt and ignited it, millimeters away from Jango's throat.

"Master Windu, how pleasant of you to join us. You're just in time for the moment of truth. I would think these two new boys of yours could use a little more training," Dooku said, hiding his surprise very well. Windu shook his head as he came around from behind Jango.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Dooku. This party's over," Windu said, looking down briefly to see Obi-Wan and Anakin. He raised his free hand and smiled as all around the arena lightsabers flashed on. The Droidekas turned their attention to the more immediate threat, the Jedi's, the ones with the weapons. Now the arena was almost totally silent, all but for the sound of the Droidekas.

"Brave, but foolish, my old Jedi friend. You're impossibly outnumbered," Dooku said, his lips curling in amusement.

"I don't think so," Windu said, shaking his head slightly.

"We shall see," Dooku said, raising a hand. Windu looked down into the arena as hundreds of droids started to enter.

"That can't be good," Buffy said as they watched Windu jump off the balcony, shedding his flaming cloak as he fell. He landed smoothly and Buffy nodded her head, 'nice.' Then all hell broke out. The Jedi in the arena blocked and blasted away the droids till they were almost circling the four of them on the bull thing. The droids started firing on them. Someone from the ground threw Obi-Wan and Anakin lightsabers, and the two of them freed each other of the rest of their chains.

Scared of the shots and blasters, the bull thing reared, tipping them all off the back. Buffy landed first with Obi-Wan right on top of her. He jumped up, turned to her and ducked as a blast flew over his head.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking down at Buffy. She smiled and nodded her head.

"Fine," she told him, smiling when a droid fell down next to them. She grabbed its blaster and stood up with Obi-Wan at her back. Buffy looked up just in time to see Jango fly down off the balcony. He landed and looked around the mess of Jedi and droids. His eyes landed on something and he smiled. Buffy realized he was headed towards where Padme and Anakin were fighting.

"You ok?" she asked over her shoulder to Obi-Wan. Windu came up next to them and Obi-Wan smiled at her.

"Fine," he told her, nodding his head as he blocked a blast.

"Elisa," Windu said before she could turn and run towards Jango. She looked up at him and he pulled his robes back and pulled a long silver cylinder off his belt. He held it out to her and she looked up at him; she looked a little unsure of it.

"What does-?"

"Not now," Windu told her, thrusting the lightsaber at her. She nodded her head and took the lightsaber from him. It was just like Obi-Wan's in that it didn't fit just right in her hand. She ignited it and twisted it once in her hand, effectively blocking a blast from hitting her and nodded, it would do for now. She smiled at Windu, then turned around and ran towards Jango. When she was close enough she fired two shots at him, knowing they'd do no good, but she needed to get his attention. She holstered the blaster as he turned to face her and smiled.

"Jango, fancy meeting you here!" she called as she ran towards him. She blocked his first two shots with her lightsaber and flipped over the third one landing only a few feet away from him.

"Don't you ever learn?" Jango asked, stalking towards her, his gun pointed at her. He raised his other arm and shot his metal rope at her again. Buffy side stepped it, reached out with her hand and grabbed it and wrapped it around her fist. Then with her other hand she cut the rope with her lightsaber.

"I'm a fast study," Buffy said, nodding her head, blocking the two shots from his blaster. It still surprised her quite a lot that she even knew how to do this. Buffy jumped back in surprise when he shot a blast of fire at her. It caught the bottom of her robes on fire; the flames were licking up her legs. While she was distracted Jango got a shot in, catching her in the leg this time. Having been shot once though, her body was a little more acclimated to the pain and it didn't drive her to her knees this time. She threw the robe to the ground and looked up at Jango; he was a little surprised that the shot didn't affect her the same as it had the last time. Jango shot up into the air and flipped over her head, but Buffy had anticipated this move. She turned as he landed and brought her lightsaber across in a slash. She had meant to catch him in the chest, disable him a little. But her timing was a little off and she was new at this. She aimed too high and the lightsaber went right through his neck.

She stepped back as his body crumbled to the ground in front of her, the head and helmet tumbling away. She didn't have any time to think on what had just happened because a new blast whizzed by her head. She turned in time to see a droid headed at her. She ducked as another shot came flying at her and blocked the next one, cutting the droid in half once it was close enough. She looked around her and could see there were more droids than Jedi left now; they were in trouble. She made her way to the center of the group and found Obi-Wan and Windu fighting. Anakin and Padme were nowhere in sight.

"Anakin?" she asked, helping in the fight now.

"There," Obi-Wan said, looking to his left. They were fighting their way through a group of Geonosians. It didn't take them long to get to the center with Obi-Wan and Buffy. Buffy looked around, surprised, when all the droids stopped firing at them. They had their blasters pointed at the ground now, waiting.

"Master Windu! You have fought gallantly. Worthy of recognition in the history archives of the Jedi Order. Now it is finished." He looked around at the Jedi, some standing, others not, and Buffy couldn't help but see the small amount of glee on his face. "Surrender - and your lives will be spared."

"We will not be hostages for you to barter with, Dooku," Windu told him, looking around the ground too; the look on his face, however, was the exact opposite of Dooku's.

"Then, I'm sorry, old friend. You will have to be destroyed," Dooku told them, nodding his head slowly. The droids all raised their blasters again, waiting for Dooku's command.

"Look!" Padme shouted, looking up into the sky. There were six huge ships flying in from above them. They opened fire on the droids, knocking about a third of them out in the first wave. The ships began to circle around them, landing on the blood-soaked ground.

"Around the survivors, a perimeter, create," Buffy heard a small voice yell as the ships landed. Buffy only knew one person who talked like that, it must be Yoda. Wasn't he a little old to be on a battle field though?

Buffy ran with Obi-Wan and the rest of them to the ships. She jumped on, turning her lightsaber off as she went. She pulled out her blaster and fired on the droids as the ship took off again. When they were too far away to fire on anything she looked around her at the people on the ship. It was her, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padme and two guys in white suits. She recognized the suits right away and sighed, clones.

All around them there were explosions as the droids on the ground tried to shoot them out of the sky. The ship rocked back and forth a few times, making Buffy's grip tighten every time. She met Obi-Wan's eyes and smiled at him, thankful that she didn't have motion sickness. A particularly bad blast almost hit them, rocking them violently and Obi-Wan grabbed her shoulder as she surged forward.

"Hang on!" he yelled over the roar; he had a big smile on his face now, he was enjoying this.

"Thanks," Buffy called back sarcastically.

"Aim right above the fuel cells," Anakin yelled, pointing out the place to the pilot of the ship. They fired at something ahead of them; all Buffy could see was a large tower toppling to the ground.

"Good call," Obi-Wan said, slapping Anakin on the back. Anakin nodded his head and smiled.

"Look over there," Obi-Wan called, pointing something out to them. A speeder flew out of some kind of bunker at very fast speed.

"It's Dooku! Shoot him down!" Anakin told the pilot. The pilot did something then looked back at Anakin.

"We're out of ordnance, sir." Buffy bristled a little at the voice, it was so unmistakably Jango, and it was creeping her out a little. Anakin sighed in frustration and shook his head.

"Follow him!" Anakin demanded, watching as the speeder got a little farther away.

"We're going to need some help," Padme said, looking at all three of them. She looked a little worried and Buffy didn't blame her.

"No, there's no time. Anakin and I can handle this," Obi-Wan told them. His eyes flickered to Buffy and she could tell he was looking for wounds.

"I'm fine," she told him. He didn't look too convinced but nodded his head anyway. "What do you want us to-"

Buffy was cut off as their ship was nicked in the wing by a shot sending her and Padme flying backwards off the open side of the ship. They landed in the sand and rolled a little before they came to a stop. Buffy sat up sputtering out sand.

"Well, that was the least fun thing I've done in a while." She looked around and saw Padme sitting up too. There was also a clone she hadn't seen fall. She pulled herself up and sighed, "Padme, you ok?"

"I'm ok," Padme said jumping up as well. She shook her head and Buffy walked over to her just as the clone got there.

"Are you two all right?" he asked and Padme nodded her head.

"I think so," Padme told him, sighing as she turned to see that the ship was totally out of sight now.

"We better get you back to the Forward Command Center," the clone said, getting ready to turn away from them.

"No, no. Gather up what troops you can. We've got to get to that hangar. Get a transport. Hurry!" Padme demanded. The clone nodded his head and ran off in the other direction. "I hope we get there in time."

"They'll be fine," Buffy said, looking to the same place Padme was. She hoped Anakin and Obi-Wan could take Dooku, but she was also a little sad she wouldn't get to help.

A/N- Ok, sorry it took so long to get this out, I've been doing the job search thing so I don't have all the time in the world for it. I know, tragic right? Well I hope you like it. Only one more chapy left of this one, but don't worry, I'm working out the story for the next one. Let me know what you all think!


	6. Just the Beginning

Top of Form

Chapter Six -o- Just the Beginning

Anakin watched as Padme and Buffy tumbled to the sand rolling down the hill out of sight. He turned back to Obi-Wan, an insane wish to stop the ship swirling through him. But he took a deep breath and shook his head as something Buffy had told him came back to him, '_you have to trust people, you have to help them enough so they can take care of themselves, and then you have to understand that sometimes the people you love are going to get hurt_.' Anakin knew Padme could take care of herself, he trusted her strength.

"They will be fine," Obi-Wan said, surprised by the calm coming off his Padawan. He had been sure Anakin would...but he didn't. He looked very at ease with what had just happened.

"I know they will be," Anakin said, nodding his head before he looked forward to the **hangar** they were about to land in. They could see Dooku's speeder parked right outside the huge doors. Anakin and Obi-Wan jumped out of the ship a few seconds before it actually touched down. They ran into the **hangar** and found Dooku preparing his Interstellar Sail Ship. He turned when the two of them came to a stop behind him.

"You're going to pay for all the Jedi you've killed today, Dooku," Anakin said as he and Obi-Wan ignited their lightsabers. Dooku smirked at him as he stepped away from the control panel.

"You think so?" Dooku smiled humorlessly as he pulled a lightsaber from his belt.

"We'll take him together - you go in slowly on the left, I'll go in on the right," Obi-Wan said in a very low voice, looking over at Anakin. He nodded his head once and Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. He had little time to think over his **padawan's** change in behavior as Dooku's lightsaber flared to life.

As they both went in, Anakin on the left and Obi-Wan on the right, Dooku raised his left hand and pointed it Anakin; the force lightning that shot out of his hand blasting Anakin in the chest shocked Obi-Wan.

"As you can see, my Jedi powers are far beyond yours," Dooku said, sneering over at Obi-Wan who was standing just a few feet away. Obi-Wan looked to Anakin who seemed to be knocked out and then back to Dooku.

"I don't think so," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head as he brought his lightsaber up. Obi-Wan went in hard, slashing in a downward arc at Dooku. He easily blocked the attack and then made an attack of his own coming in low. Obi-Wan turned and just missed the tip of Dooku's lightsaber. The lightsabers sizzled and flashed as the two of them fought. Obi-Wan was holding his own but it was obvious that Dooku was the better swordsmen.

"Master Kenobi, you disappoint me. Yoda holds you in such high esteem," Dooku told him, sneering nastily at him as he swiped at his head. Obi-Wan blocked and took a step back as Dooku pushed forward. Obi-Wan winced as Dooku's lightsaber caught him in the right shoulder, a searing pain running through him. Twice more Obi-Wan blocked and turned, missing Dooku's lightsaber. But he was slowed down by the wound to his shoulder and Dooku got him again in the thigh. Obi-Wan lost his footing and fell back against the wall behind him, his lightsaber skittering across the floor.

"Well," Dooku said, raising his hand. "I guess Yoda was wrong," he said, bringing the lightsaber down only to have it collide with another lightsaber. He turned around to find Anakin standing behind him.

"That's brave of you, boy - but foolish. I would have thought you'd have learned your lesson," Dooku told him, smirking.

"I'm a slow learner," Anakin said sarcastically, raising his lightsaber. He brought it down in a curve and Dooku just barely had time to block it. Anakin **drove** Dooku away from Obi-Wan, trading blow for blow. He smiled when he hit Dooku in the shoulder, **singeing** him quite a bit.

"Perhaps you should be teaching your master to fight, young Padawan," Dooku said, snarling, as Anakin attacked again.

-o-o-o-o-

"We have to get in there," Padme said as the ship put down right next to the other ship. Buffy put her hand on Padme's shoulder and held her back. Padme turned and looked at her questioningly.

"If we go in there shouting and they're fighting, do you want to distract them?" she asked and Padme shook her head. Buffy smiled and nodded her head. "We'll go in slow and quiet, see if we can't help somehow." Padme nodded her head and followed behind Buffy, keeping to the wall and the shadows as much as possible.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"You have unusual powers, young Padawan. But not enough to save you this time," Dooku said as he began to dominate the fight.

"Don't bet on it!" Anakin said, turning half way around just as Obi-Wan called out his name. He caught Obi-Wan's lightsaber in his other hand and turned it on, now fighting with two lightsabers.

"Man, your **boyfriend's** got the moves," Buffy said as they watched Anakin and Dooku fight. She was trying to get to Obi-Wan, make sure he was ok. Padme looked a little stunned as the blush crept onto her checks; there was also a little bit of worry in her eyes.

"**Don't** sweat it, your **secret's** safe with me for as long as it needs to be," Buffy said, smiling at her. Padme looked a little shocked but she nodded her head. When they got to Obi-Wan, Buffy bent down next to him and smiled at him.

"Hey, you know I think you're **supposed** to stay on your feet when you sword fight," Buffy told him as she looked at his shoulder and leg. "But I think you're going to live."

"That's good to hear," Obi-Wan told her sarcastically, wincing slightly when she touched his leg.

"Does he need some help?" Buffy asked, looking out at Anakin; he was holding his own, but just slightly.

"It's on its way," Obi-Wan said as his eyes brightened a little and he tried to sit up.

"On its way?" she asked, looking where Obi-Wan was looking, but she didn't see anything. All of their eyes flew to Anakin as Dooku used a force push to propel him backwards into a wall, both his lightsabers went flying.

"Anakin!" Padme cried, as she jumped up and called Dooku's attention to them. She looked down at Buffy and Obi-Wan apologetically. Dooku smirked as he turned and started towards them.

"That was quite a job you did on my bounty hunter," Dooku said, his eyes searching Buffy. Buffy stood up and put her hand on Padme's shoulder and stepped in front of her. "And yet, you're not a Jedi, you've never been trained."

"Nope," Buffy said, shaking her head as she stepped farther away from Obi-Wan and Padme. She tried not to worry about the fact that Anakin had yet to move since he fell to the ground. She ignited her lightsaber. "Scary, huh?" she asked, smirking at him.

"Elisa," Buffy heard a voice from behind Dooku say. She looked over his shoulder as he did and saw Yoda walking into the **hangar**. "Your fight, this is not," he said, walking towards them.

"Master Yoda," Dooku said, forgetting Buffy for a moment as he turned to face Yoda.

"Count Dooku," Yoda said, very slowly making his way towards **him**. Buffy took one step back but she didn't turn off her lightsaber, Yoda might need a little help.

"Elisa," Obi-Wan said quietly and Buffy turned to look at him. "Get to his ship, stop him from-"

"Oh no," Dooku said, turning to look at them. He held out his hand towards Buffy and blue lightning shot out of his hand, striking Buffy right in the chest, sending her crashing into the wall behind Obi-Wan. "None of that now."

"Master Kenobi," Padme said, leaning down next to him. "What should I do?" she asked in a whisper once Dooku's attention was back on Yoda.

"Get to back to the ships, tell them - don't let him out of here," Obi-Wan said and Padme nodded her head. She looked once over **at **Anakin, swallowed hard and then stood and snuck back out the way she had come. Buffy was only a foot or so away from Anakin and Obi-Wan sat up and tried to make his way over to them. He had to make sure she was ok; he knew Anakin was ok, he could feel it.

"Powerful you have become, Dooku. The dark side I sense in you," Yoda said as he deflected another piece of rock that Dooku sent his way.

"I have become more powerful than any Jedi. Even you, my old Master," Dooku said, sneering down at Yoda. He hurled force lightning at Yoda **who** deflected it easily.

"Much to learn you still have," Yoda told him, shaking his head sadly.

"It is obvious this contest will not be decided by our knowledge of the Force, but by our skills with a lightsaber," Dooku said, igniting his lightsaber again. Yoda pulled out his lightsaber and nodded at Dooku.

"Elisa?" Obi-Wan said when he got to her. She mumbled something and shook her head. To her left, Anakin was beginning to wake, his eyes blinking slowly.

"Master?" he asked, his voice a little thin.

"Are you alright Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, looking over at him. Anakin looked down at himself and nodded his head.

"Yes master," he said, nodding his head. He looked down at Buffy, a little surprised. "When did she get here? Is Padme with her?"

"Padme is getting help," Obi-Wan said, dismissing the concern in Anakin's voice at the mention of Padme. "Elisa," Obi-Wan said, putting his hand on her shoulder. _'Wake up,'_ he thought, staring down at her. Her eyes blinked a few times and she looked up Obi-Wan.

"Geez, you don't have to shout," Buffy said, sitting up stiffly. "That," she said, looking down at her chest, "was so rude!" Buffy said, rolling her shoulders. Truthfully that had been the most painful thing she had ever experienced, and she had _died_, but she wasn't going to tell them that, at least not right now. Her eyes went wide when she saw Yoda do a flip off the back of the control panels. His lightsaber was nothing but a blur of green light. She smiled as he drove Dooku back with every swing of it.

"Wow," she said, shocked that all **that** power could come out of something so small.

"Fought well, you have, my old Padawan," Yoda said as Dooku backed away from Yoda and brought his lightsaber down.

"The battle is far from over. This is just the beginning," Dooku said, raising his hand to one of the cranes in the **hangar**. There was a loud **shuddering** noise as the crane broke loose of its bindings. Dooku directed it towards Buffy, Obi-Wan and Anakin. His eyes met Buffy's and he smirked before he took his hand away. There was a moment **where** Buffy was sure it was going to flatten them and then it stopped. Buffy could see Yoda was holding the crane up, along with help from Obi-Wan and Anakin, and while they were doing do so, Dooku was getting away.

She tried to stand to go after him but her legs fell out from under her and she collapsed to the floor. She watched as Dooku boarded his ship and the door closed up behind him. Buffy watched as its engines started up and seconds later it took off. She swore as Yoda made his way over to them, a sad and thoughtful look on his face.

"Just the beginning indeed," Yoda said to himself as he watched Obi-Wan help Buffy to her feet. Anakin didn't seem too bad off; he was standing on his own, but just barely.

-o-o-

"He got away sir," one of the clones told them a little while later. Padme was standing next to Anakin, checking his wounds, and Obi-Wan was talking with the clone and Yoda. Buffy stood to the side, clear of all of them and sighed. Things had just gotten a whole lot worse, she was sure. She looked at the clone, sad for him. But, she had to admit, they wouldn't be alive if it hadn't been for them. She looked at Padme and Anakin, she could feel their affection for each other in waves, could Obi-Wan and Yoda really not feel it? Or did they choose to ignore it? Obi-Wan nodded his head and turned and walked back over to her.

"We're going back to Coruscant," Obi-Wan told her; she nodded her head and smiled a little.

"So, tough day, huh?" she asked, looking around at everything. So much had happened and she'd only been here for a little more than three weeks. She was beginning to worry, was she doing right here? Was she helping at all, it was so hard to tell?

"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed, nodding his head. Buffy reached up and looked at his arm then looked down at his leg and pointed.

"You should have that looked at," she said, smiling up at him.

"You should have that looked at," he said, pointing to her leg too. In all the running and fighting she had almost forgotten she had been shot. The absurdity of it made her laugh out loud. Obi-Wan looked at her strangely and she shrugged her shoulders. Now that everything was settling down, she was beginning to feel a bit of pain.

"So," she said a moment later, "how are we getting back to Coruscant?"

"In a ship," Obi-Wan said with a straight face that made Buffy laugh again.

"I knew there must be a smart ass in you somewhere," she said, punching him lightly on his good arm. "A starship?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. "I'll show you," he told her as he walked her away from the **hangar** towards another one. The other **hangar** had a ship inside it, alright. It was huge, beyond big, her whole house times two would have fit in that ship, and more.

"We're going back in that?" she asked, having a little trouble believing something so big could fly.

"We are," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head, a smile on his face.

"Does it have showers?" she asked wistfully, making Obi-Wan laugh out loud now.

"It does," he assured her as he led her towards it. She sighed and nodded her head. She turned when she heard the rest of her little group coming in. Padme and Anakin had parted, about half a foot. And Yoda was still talking to the clone.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Anakin stood in front of his master's apartment, their apartment, Padme at his side. He had to tell him, he needed to be the first to know he was leaving. But as much as he wanted to tell him, he was scared, scared that Obi-Wan would not understand, that he would be angry with him. He looked down at Padme who just smiled patiently at him; they had been out here for almost ten minutes now. Anakin raised his hand to knock then let it fall again and sighed.

"Oh for force sake," Obi-Wan said as the door slid open. He had a cup of tea in his hands and was scowling. "I felt you the moment you approached Anakin, what are you waiting for?" Obi-Wan smiled down at Padme and moved out of the door so they could enter. Anakin was less **than** surprised to see Elisa sitting on the couch, she also had tea.

"I'm waiting to hear from the council," Buffy said, smiling at them. "Gave me a lightsaber but won't give me a straight answer as to why." She sighed in frustration and shook her head. "How are you guys?"

"Good," Padme said, nodding her head. Buffy saw the look that passed between them and stood up. "I'm going to, um, go, must be something to do around this place."

"Don't," Anakin said, shaking his head as he and Padme walked over to the couches with Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan looked over at Anakin and sat down in an arm chair. There was something going on here, something he was not going to like. Buffy sighed a little and sat back down.

"What is it, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, seconds before he noticed the way they were holding themselves now. Close together, almost touching, both looking to each other every few seconds and he knew. He knew just what Anakin was about to say and he sighed. He looked over at Buffy and knew she had known something was going on.

"Master," Anakin said as he and Padme sat down. Anakin folded and unfolded his hands in his lap. He opened his mouth and then closed it again and sighed. Obi-Wan had never seen him so indecisive before. Anakin took a deep breath and decided **straight** to the point would be best.

"Master, I've broken code," he told him, looking over to Padme. "I **fell** in love, and I don't plan on not being with Padme, ever." He looked to Obi-Wan for a reaction but got nothing more than a nod. Buffy was sitting on the couch across from them, beaming.

"I don't want to deceive the council, and I don't want to have to lie to _you_." Anakin explained, smiling when Padme reached over and took his hand. Obi-Wan **watched** in surprise as Anakin seemed to relax at her touch. "I'm leaving the Jedi order," Anakin finally got out after a moment.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. And for a moment he was 18 again, standing in the Room of a Thousand Fountains holding the hand of the woman he loved. He remembered as they decided to put their feelings aside to stay in the Jedi order. He remembered **Qui-Gon's counsel** to give up his love, to fulfill his destiny. He opened his eyes and found Anakin staring at him, waiting.

"If you're waiting for me to talk you out of it you're going to be waiting a very long time," Obi-Wan finally said after a moment in thought. He would not do what was done to him; he would not make them give up this love for destiny. Anakin was meant for Padme, this was the will of the force, that they had **met** at all only proved that.

"You're not mad?" Anakin asked, looking him in the eyes, searching for something he thought Obi-Wan was holding back. Obi-Wan smiled at him, a genuine bright smile and shook his head.

"No," he assured them as he stood. "I, however, cannot promise the same of the council." Anakin stood up **too** and looked across at Obi-Wan and then a huge smile broke out onto his face. He reached out to Obi-Wan who took his hand then pulled him into a hug. Buffy snuck across to the other couch and sat down next to Padme.

"I'm really happy for you guys," Buffy told her, smiling up at Anakin and Obi-Wan as they pulled apart.

"Thank you," Padme said, reaching over and taking Buffy's hand. "I hope you don't mind, but Anakin, he told me about you, where you come from, and why you're here."

"He did, huh?" Buffy asked, looking up at Anakin who had just turned around to find his seat taken. He smiled at her and she shrugged. "I had kinda hoped he'd tell you."

"We're going to get married," Anakin informed Buffy, smiling down at her. He turned quickly back to Obi-Wan and a hesitant smile fell onto his face. "I know it's unorthodox, but I was really hoping you'd stand with me?"

"I would like nothing more," he told Anakin, smiling at him. "When are you going to tell the council?"

"I thought I'd go down there now, while I know they're all convened," Anakin said, looking down at Buffy again. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Alone?" Buffy asked as she stood up and walked back over to her place picking up her tea. They all looked to the door when it rang and Obi-Wan walked over to it.

"Master Kenobi," a young Padawan said, looking up at Obi-Wan. "The council would like to speak to you, your apprentice and Elisa."

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said smiling at the young man. The boy bowed his head then turned and ran off down the hall.

"You stay here, ok?" Anakin said, looking down at Padme. She stood up and took his hands into hers.

"Are you sure Annie, you might need me." She smiled up at him, still a little unused to this feeling flowing through her, but loving it **nonetheless**. Anakin reached up and brushed her **loose** hair out of her face.

"I'll be fine." He took her hand and placed it on his heart and smiled. "I have you right here giving me strength." Padme nodded her head, stood up on her tippy toes and kissed him.

-o-o-o-o-

"If you don't mind master, I'd like to go in first," Anakin said, looking from Obi-Wan to Buffy. Obi-Wan nodded his head and Anakin knocked on the chamber doors then opened it and walked in. The door closed silently behind him and Obi-Wan sat down on the chair outside.

"I'm sorry," Buffy said, sitting down next to him. Obi-Wan looked up at her and she looked to the door. "I know it must be hard, losing him." Obi-Wan looked to the door too and sighed.

"There is still so much more to teach him, I'm just-"

"You're scared," Buffy said, realizing it for the first time. "You don't want him to be swayed." Obi-Wan looked a little **startled** by her accurate guess. SO many things could come of not being fully trained, he was a more than a little worried.

"Even fully trained the pull of the dark side can be strong for some." He looked away from the door to Buffy. "I just worry for him, he can be so-"

"**Headstrong**? Arrogant? Childish?" Buffy said, ticking the things off on her fingers.

"Stop finishing my sentences," Obi-Wan demanded, a mock look of anger on his face. Buffy looked down at her hands and then back up at him, unsure if she should tell him just why it is that she could finish his sentences, it was probably prudent that at least someone knew.

"I can't help it," Buffy said, shrugging her shoulders now as she looked up at him. "Your sentences are always so loud in my head."

"My sentences are loud in you- you don't mean..." He trailed off and she looked down at her hands again. _'Elisa.'_

"Wow!" Buffy hollered, jumping up out of her seat to look down at him. It hadn't been **an **almost mute sound in the back of her mind that time. It was if he'd spoken, but he hadn't. "See, see there it is," she said, pointing at him, as if accusing him. Obi-Wan looked slightly impressed and smiled at her.

"Try it," he told her as he too stood up and walked over to her.

"I can't," Buffy said, shaking her head. This was all so weird, she wasn't sure she could take something new right now.

"Try it," Obi-Wan said, reaching out and placing his finger tips on the side of her forehead. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and tried to think at him. 'Think at him,' Buffy thought sarcastically.

'_Obi-Wan,' s_he thought, opening her eyes to see if it **worked**, but she needn't look to see that it worked, all she had to do was listen.

'_Right here.' _The thought came into her mind freely and it made her jump a little again. _'So weird,'_ she thought, taking a step back.

"We'll need to work on your control so you don't project everything you think," Obi-Wan said, smiling at her.

"I don't-"

"No, you normally don't, but just then, 'So weird', I picked up on that." Obi-Wan explained to her as he made his way back to his chair.

"What is this?" Buffy asked as she slowly walked back to the chairs. "Can all of you guys do this?"

"No," Obi-Wan said shaking his head. "A master and a Padawan have a bond that allows for it and many of the stronger masters can on their own but-" He stopped midsentence and Buffy looked to the doors expecting to see Anakin but they were still closed.

"What?" she asked, looking over at him. He had a very thoughtful look on his face, he turned his face towards the chamber doors again and then back to Buffy.

"Nothing," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. They sat in silence for a few moments then something occurred to Buffy.

"Can you and Anakin, can you talk in each other's heads?" Obi-Wan nodded his head and looked at the doors.

"But Anakin does not like it much, he prefers to speak. It can come in handy in a battle situation though."

"I bet," Buffy said, nodding her head. She should know, her **Scoobies** had used that little trick a few times.

"He's coming out," Obi-Wan said, seconds before the door opened and Anakin stepped out, looking no worse for the wear. He actually had a small smile on his face as he walked over to Obi-Wan.

"They would like to see you, both of you," Anakin said, looking down at Buffy as well.

"Goody," Buffy said, standing up as Obi-Wan did. "Should be loads of fun."

"I'll be in our apartment, waiting," Anakin told them and Obi-Wan nodded his head, wishing for a little more information, but it would have to wait. Anakin bowed his head a little and turned and headed down the hall. Obi-Wan turned to Buffy and smiled at her.

"Are you ready?" he asked as they walked towards the doors.

"Sure," Buffy said, nodding her head. She hated that these people held her fate in their hands, but she knew this was how it worked here and she would have to live with that. Even if it meant 'following' a few rules.

"Masters." Obi-Wan bowed a little and Buffy followed suit, smiling at all of them. She couldn't remember all of their names and that worried her a little.

"Know of your **padawan's** plans, you do?" Yoda asked, looking up at Obi-Wan, meeting his eyes.

"He told me just before coming here, master," Obi-Wan said and Buffy noticed that he held himself differently in here, almost as if he were less sure of himself here. Something about that didn't seem right to Buffy, she'd have to see if she could find out why that was.

"Sad we are, to lose your Padawan," Yoda told them and Obi-Wan nodded his head. He did look sad, Buffy could see it, but there was something else, something under the sadness. Yoda nodded his head and then looked over at Buffy.

"Skilled with a lightsaber, Windu tells us," Yoda said smiling at her. Buffy nodded her head, her thoughts going to her fight with Jango.

"Remorse you feel, for taking his life?" Yoda asked and Buffy nodded her head, she hadn't meant to, she was just trying to wound him.

"Good that you feel remorse, only human you are," Yoda said and smiled at her. He looked her over then turned to Windu, Windu nodded his head and Buffy hoped it was a good nod. 'Please let it be a good nod,' she thought, taking a deep breath readying herself for the worst.

"A Jedi, you will be," Yoda said and Buffy had a hard time containing her excitement. She let out the air in a hard rush and smiled.

"Thanks," she said smiling; she looked up at Obi-Wan as a word filtered through her mind, _'Padawan.'_

"Need a master to train you, you will," Yoda said, looking around at the people in the room.

"I would like to take Elisa on as my Padawan," Buffy looked up at Obi-Wan with a shocked look on her face. It had never even **occurred** to her that it might be Obi-Wan training her; he had Anakin after all, or did have.

"Take her as your Padawan, you will," Yoda said, nodding his head. For some reason Buffy got the feeling this was how Yoda wanted things to be.

"We are at the beginning of a war now," Windu said, looking from Obi-Wan to Buffy and back again. "Training will not be easy and it will not be fun." Buffy knew he was just warning her, trying to help, so she didn't point out that she had saved the world a few times. Of course, that had just been one world. She nodded her head and tried to look solemn.

"Escort the Senator back to Naboo," Yoda told them, nodding his head. "Report back to the council when you return."

"Yes master," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Buffy bowed a little and smiled at them all. Then she and Obi-Wan turned and walked out of the chambers.

"So," Buffy asked, turning to look at him. "Do I have to start calling you master now?" Obi-Wan looked down at her and grinned.

"Yes," he said, nodding his head and she smirked.

"You're not going to call me Padawan all the time are you?" she asked, looking up at him; she didn't really like the term all that much.

"Not all the time," he assured her, smiling down at her. "But I hope you like Anakin's hair cut."

"What!?" Buffy exclaimed, pulling her hair forward. "You're not going to make me shave my head are you?" she asked, a pleading tone to her voice.

"No," Obi-Wan said, laughing out loud at the look on her face. "But you will have to cut it, and you'll need a braid."

"Like Anakin's?" she asked, sighing in **relief** that she wasn't going to be getting a buzz cut.

"Yes, like Anakin's," Obi-Wan agreed, nodding his head.

"Well, that's not so bad then," Buffy said, smiling at him.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Two days later and they were all four staying at the lake side retreat on Naboo. Buffy really liked it here, quiet and very pretty. She had persuaded Obi-Wan to let her go swimming that morning and was now laying on the sand with a towel wrapped around herself, the warm sun beating down on her.

"I do love this beach," Padme said, startling Buffy out of her day dreams. She was so going to have to work on the whole 'be mindful of your surroundings' thing.

"It's really nice here," Buffy said, nodding her head as she sat up and looked out over the water. "Thanks for the suit," Buffy said, **indicating** the swimming suit she had borrowed from Padme.

"You're welcome," Padme said, picking up a handful of sand and letting it run through her fingers. Buffy could tell she had something on her mind.

"Are you nervous?" Buffy asked, trying to get her to talk about whatever was bothering her.

"No," Padme said with a strong conviction. She smiled at Buffy then looked up to the balcony a little ways away from them **where** she could see Obi-Wan and Anakin's backs. "I'm so excited."

"Oh, well that's good," Buffy said, nodding her head. "I really am very happy for you two."

"Thank you," Padme said, looking back to the island way across the water. "Elisa, I was wondering, hoping actually, that you might stand with me in the wedding, Anakin is having Obi-Wan, it only seems right that you stand with me." She stopped and smiled at Buffy uncertainly then went on, quickly. "I mean only if you want to because-"

"Padme," Buffy said, cutting off her ramble. 'This girl would have gotten **along** well with Willow,' Buffy thought, smiling at her. "I would love that."

"Thank you," Padme said, nodding her head. **She** looked to the water again then back to Buffy.

"Is your family coming tonight?" Buffy asked, curious to the look on Padme's face now. Padme brightened at the mention of her family and nodded her head.

"Yes, they should be here tonight sometime." She looked out at the water again and then back to Buffy, her smile going wide. "Are you a good swimmer?"

"I'm not bad, why?" Buffy asked, looking out at the tiny island way out there in the water. Padme followed her gaze and smirked.

"Think you can make it?" Padme asked as she stood up and took **off** her robe, **revealing** a light blue swimming suit.

"I'm sure I can," Buffy said, nodding her head as she stood up.

"Ok," Padme said, smiling at her, "let's go then." And both girls were off, running into the water, splashing as they went.

-o-o-o-o-

"I hope you're happy," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head as the two of them watched Buffy and Padme swim towards the island. "I think I just ended up with a Padawan even stronger willed **than** you." Anakin laughed and patted Obi-Wan on the back.

"She won't be so bad," Anakin **told him**, smirking. "Wait till she has to cut her hair, I get the feeling she's as attached to her hair as Padme is."

"I think she's actually excited about the braid," Obi-Wan told him, chuckling lightly.

"She's a little odd," Anakin said, tugging lightly on the Padawan braid he hadn't been able to bring himself to cut off yet.

"So were you," Obi-Wan said, looking over at Anakin. His face turned serious as he searched Anakin's eyes. "Padme is very good for you; all of a sudden you're calmer, reserved. I'm happy for you."

"Thank you Mas-" Anakin stopped mid-word and smiled at him. "Thank you Obi-Wan"

"And you know something else?" he asked as he turned back out and looked over the water, smiling as Buffy and Padme climbed onto the beach out of the water. Anakin looked to Obi-Wan, waiting. Obi-Wan turned to Anakin and his smile was warm and happy now. "Qui-Gon would have been very proud of you too."

"Thank you," Anakin whispered, his voice low as he turned to watch the girls too. His soon to be wife and Obi-Wan's new Padawan, how odd things had turned out, but all for the good Anakin was sure.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"I'm sorry I can't be there," Shmi said, smiling sadly at Anakin and Padme over the hololink. Anakin took a deep breath and nodded his head, a smile on his face.

"We'll come out **to** see you right after the ceremony," Anakin promised her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing much better," Shmi said, nodding her head, and she really looked it too. The bruises were all but gone and the cuts around her mouth were beginning to heal. Anakin wished she could be there to see him get married, but they couldn't afford to leave the farm, and Shmi really wasn't up to it yet.

"I'm sorry you can't be here", Padme **said**, smiling at her, "but Artoo is going to be recording the whole thing so we call all watch it when we come see you."

"I would love that," Shmi said, nodding her head.

"Anakin!" A loud voice called from down the hall. "Your soon to be in-laws are here!" A **blonde** girl came running into the room, a huge smile on her face. "There are two little girls and- Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Elisa, this is my mom," Anakin said, moving a little so Shmi could see her.

"Hi!" Buffy called smiling at her. "It's good to meet you."

"You too," Shmi said, nodding her head. "Someday in the future in the flesh perhaps?"

"Oh yeah, totally," Buffy said, nodding her head, laughing lightly. Shmi smiled at her then looked back to her son.

"I'll let you go **greet** your family," Shmi told them, looking over to Padme. "I'll see you soon."

"Of course," Padme said, nodding her head.

"I love you mom," Anakin said and Shmi smiled at him, her eyes watering just a little.

"I love you too Annie," Shmi said, nodding her head. She looked between the two of them again, smiled and disconnected.

"Sorry," Buffy said sheepishly.

"It's ok," Anakin said rising with Padme. He reached over without thought and took Padme's hand. Buffy nodded her head and left the room first. They looked so sweet together, she was glad everything had worked **itself** out, though something told her this was just the beginning.

-o-o-o-o-

"Well, I for one am a little surprised it fit," Buffy said, looking down at the silky baby blue dress she now had on. She was borrowing it for the wedding seeing as she had no really pretty clothing. It went all the way to the floor and was cut in a V at the neck. The sleeves were long and cut in a bell shape. When Buffy had first seen it she hadn't be sure it would look right on her, but now she loved it.

"Why wouldn't it fit?" Padme's mom, Jobal asked, smoothing out the skirt of her **daughter's** dress. "You and Padme are just about the same size." Buffy smiled at the older woman. She really **liked** Padme's family, they were all very nice, especially the two little girls. Both of them were so full of energy, always running somewhere.

"Mom!" Ryoo called, running into the room, her beautiful curls bouncing as she ran. "Mom, they're ready!" she called excitedly.

"Thank you, Ryoo," Sola said, patting her oldest daughter on the head. "Where is your sister?"

"Pooja's with Uncle Annie and Uncle Obi." Ryoo said, smiling up at her mother. The two girls had **taken** to calling Obi-Wan Uncle Obi and Buffy Aunty Lisa; the Uncle Annie thing was the only one that was correct, but all the women thought it was very cute, so none of them corrected the girls.

"You look very nice in your dress," Buffy said, looking down at the little girl. Ryoo, who seemed to be the more open of the two girls, beamed up at her.

"Thank you!" she said, turning around so Buffy could see the whole dress. "It's the same color as yours." She pointed out and Buffy nodded her head. That had been one of the reasons Padme had picked it, the two girls had dresses the same color and she thought it would be nice if they all matched.

"Mom, would you stop fussing," Padme said, smiling down at her mother.

"Sorry dear," Jobal said, standing up to look at her daughter. "You look so beautiful," she said, **wiping** at her eye.

"Oh, don't start that mom," Padme said, laughing lightly. "You'll just get me going."

"And then I'd have to redo your makeup," Sola said, turning to smile at her sister. She really did look beautiful. Her long white dress was made up of so much silk and lace, it was the prettiest thing she had ever seen.

"May I come in?" Ruwee asked as he pushed the door open a little.

"Hi dad," Padme said, smiling up at her father. "Does it look ok?" she asked, holding her arms out a little.

"You look wonderful," he said and Padme nodded her head.

"We'll just give you a moment," Buffy said, reaching out to take Ryoo's hand. The four of them walked out the door, leaving the father and daughter alone for a moment.

"You know," Buffy said as they waited for Padme and Ruwee to come out. "I've never been in a wedding before."

"Me either," Ryoo said, looking up at her. The door opened behind them and Padme and Ruwee came out, both looking like they were trying not to cry.

"We ready?" Sola asked, patting her father on the shoulder.

"Yes," Padme said, nodding her head; there was so much love in her eyes, it was clear all she wanted to do was get married.

-o-o-o-o-

"Would you like to dance?" Anakin asked, looking down at Buffy. Buffy smiled up at him and nodded her head, taking his offered hand.

"Where's your wife?" Buffy asked, smiling at how his eyes lit up when she said 'wife.' He looked over his shoulder to where Padme was dancing with Obi-Wan, who could dance, what a surprise.

"Can you Jedi do everything?" Buffy asked as she walked out onto the dance floor. Anakin laughed and took her hand.

"Yes," Anakin said, nodding his head, totally serious. Buffy laughed, a little surprised when he dipped her backwards. They danced for a few minutes, talking about the wedding and where Anakin **planned** to take Padme for their getaway vacation. On the second song they passed Obi-Wan and Padme and Anakin smiled.

"Trade you," Anakin said, looking at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan looked over at Buffy and faked a sigh.

"I guess," he said, letting go of Padme's hand. Padme giggled and Buffy rolled her eyes as they switched partners. Obi-Wan, as it had looked, was a good dancer.

"Better get **used** to me buddy," Buffy said as the song changed tempo and it slowed a little. "You're stuck with me now."

"Well," Obi-Wan said smiling down at her. "You can't possibly be any worse than Anakin."

"Oh," Buffy said, an evil little grin on her face. "I think I hear a challenge in there." Now Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and Buffy laughed. "I'm sure we can come to some kind of a compromise."

"I'm sure," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes following them on the dance floor.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Buffy had never seen anything as beautiful as a sunset on Naboo. The way the light behind the mountains just made the whole mountain glow, reds, purples and orange, it was wonderful. Of course, now it was well **past** sunset, but Buffy had seen it. She took a deep breath and relished in the cool air drifting on the breeze. She had a warm cup of tea in her hands and her pajamas on. By now everyone was in bed and fast asleep, everyone but her, and whoever was standing in the doorway behind her. He, and she was pretty sure it was Obi-Wan, had been standing there for almost five minutes now. Buffy closed her eyes a small grin on her face as she leaned back in her chair.

'_I know **you're** there,' _she thought, not looking over her shoulder at him. She heard him shift and then she saw his shadow blocking out the light from the room behind her.

"We're going to have to head back tomorrow," Obi-Wan told her, coming around the chair; he walked over to the edge of the balcony and Buffy stood up. She walked over so she was standing next to him.

"I know," Buffy told him sighing. She really liked it here, wouldn't mind staying for a while, but they had to go back and she knew it. "I don't think..." She trailed off and Obi-Wan looked down at her. "I don't think you need to worry about Anakin, I think...I think Padme balances him."

"Yes, she does," Obi-Wan agreed with her; leaning forward on the balcony he looked out over the water. In the light from the house you could only see a little ways out, then it was all darkness. Buffy thought it was a good analogy for their future, a little bit out and it was all dark, no way of knowing what was out there. She shivered a little, but it wasn't from the breeze.

"When we get back we will have to go right into your training," Obi-Wan said, looking down at her; the fun, excited guy **from** the wedding was gone, in his place was Master Obi-Wan and Buffy nodded. That was how this was supposed to be, as long as she could drag the fun guy out every once **in** a while.

"Training I can do, don't worry about me," Buffy told him, nodding her head. "Things are...bad out there, huh?" she asked, looking up into the stars now.

"The clone wars have begun," Obi-Wan said, looking up to the stars too. "From this point on, everything changes." They both stared into the night sky thinking about the things to come in the future. Buffy gasped a little when a shooting star shot through the sky.

"Make a wish," Buffy said, pointing to it as it faded from the sky. Buffy closed her eyes and wished for all of this to come out right, wished that whatever she did it was the right thing. Buffy opened her eyes and looked over at Obi-Wan; he still had his eyes closed. He must have a lot of wishes, or one really big one. He opened his eyes after a second and looked down at her, there was a small smile curling his lips now. Then he looked away from her and back towards the sky. Buffy wanted to know what he'd wished for, she wanted to ask him, but she knew, if you told what you wished for it didn't come true, and she had a feeling he wanted this wish to come true.

The End...

For Now...

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	7. InBetween A Mission

Top of Form

Welcome back! This is the In-between, a story done between Episode II and Episode III. I hope you all enjoy it, and from here on out the story is going to differ quite a bit from the movies.

And just so you understand, the thoughts of a person i.e. Anakin, will be in single quotes i.e. 'May the force be with you.' The thoughts between two people i.e. Buffy and Obi-Wan, will be in single quotes and italics, i.e. _'May the force be with you.' _Hope that you guys like this next part, let me know:-)

In-Between A -o- Mission

Buffy folded her legs in front of her and straightened her back; she laid her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. Something had been bothering her, something she couldn't figure out on her own. It had been keeping her up at night, and in doing so it had been keeping Obi-Wan up at night, because she tended to pace, and not quietly. Obi-Wan had suggested, in a very firm tone, that she should try meditating, something she was only now starting to get good at. In six months it was the only thing she seemed to have trouble with. She rolled her neck a few times and continued to breathe in long steady breaths. It wasn't hard for her to get into a meditative state, but it was hard for her to stay there. She closed her eyes and let everything around her melt into nothingness. She blocked out the sounds from all around her, the noise of the apartment, the noise of the traffic outside, everything. She took a deep breath and was surprised by the familiar scents that filled her nose. They were the well-known scents of a cemetery, the wet grass and the freshly dug graves spilled out around her. She opened her eyes and found herself standing in a cemetery; she was leaning up against a very large headstone, someone standing to her right.

She turned her head and looked and was less than surprised to find Angel standing there. He had a small smile on his face and his hands were resting behind him, on the headstone. He was looking out towards the dark night at something Buffy couldn't see. There was something heavy in her hand and when she looked down at it she saw that it was the medallion, the one she'd ended up giving to Spike. It was then that she knew when and where she was. Angel looked over at her and she sighed and opened her mouth to speak.

"Because...Ok, I'm cookie dough. I'm not done baking. I'm not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I'm gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day I turn around and realize I'm ready. I'm cookies. And then, you know, if I want someone to eat...or enjoy warm, delicious cookie me, then...that's fine. That'll be then. When I'm done." She smiled to herself, the words flowing from another time and another place, but she remembered this. Angel looked at her and she wondered what this had to do with anything. She didn't miss Angel, not as much as the rest of them, so what did he have to do with her problem?

"Any thoughts on who might enjoy..." He sighed and shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Do I have to go with the cookie analogy?" he asked and Buffy giggled a little, shaking her head.

"I'm not really thinking that far ahead. That's kind of the point," she said, reaching out to touch him, but he was no longer there. Now she was standing back in the apartment, in their small but effective kitchen, cooking. Obi-Wan walked in from the other room and smiled at her as he sat down at the table across from her. She turned to the oven as the timer sounded and she smiled. She bent over and opened the door and pulled out a tray, she turned with it in her hands and found Obi-Wan staring at her, a warm smile on his face.

"Cookies are done," she said, putting the tray down on the table in front of him. Buffy's eyes snapped open; she held back the little gasp that came with this new knowledge. She brought her hands up and rubbed the side of her head, trying to knead away this sudden head ache. She must be interpreting this wrong, this couldn't mean what it looked like it meant, could it? She closed her eyes again and tried to picture him in her mind and found it was a simple task. Every detail was clear, his face, his eyes, the way his lips curled up in a half smirk when he was joking with her.

Her eyes popped open again and she shook her head trying to dislodge the visuals from her mind. How had she let this happen? Of all the people, in this whole galaxy, it had to be him. Buffy unfolded her legs and leaned back against the back of the couch and sighed. Of course it had to be him, there was no one else in this whole world that she found half as entertaining as him, half as brave or, sometimes, stupid as him. He was so much like her in so many ways, how had she not seen this coming?

She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked out the huge picture window to the world outside and sighed. She put up a few blocks in her mind as she pondered this new feeling; the last thing she needed was Obi-Wan hearing something he shouldn't. How had she not realized this? Wasn't this something you knew about, as soon as it happened? Didn't your heart flutter and your palms sweat and all that mushy crap? How had she missed that she'd fallen head over heels in love with the one person she was never allowed to have?

-o-o-o-o-

Buffy stood in front of the small mirror in her room and smiled. She liked the way her new robes fit her, closer to the skin than normal Jedi robes, but far less tight than the skin suit she had first donned when she got to this new galaxy. She had worked with the woman who makes the Jedi clothing, hoping she could get something close to good looking. She shook her head as she plopped back down onto her bed. She was trying to look good, without even realizing she had been trying to impress him. Him who was not even swayed in the least by a pretty woman, at least, not that she could tell.

This was just wrong, maybe she should ask for a new master. Maybe things would just be better that way. She shook her head, tossing that thought out; she couldn't train under anyone other than Obi-Wan and she knew it. He was the only one who really understood her need to not be 'mastered.' Though he still scolded her on her jumps to anger, and her lack of focus. She too was impulsive, just like Anakin, and it frustrated him.

Not for the first time Buffy wished she had Willow to talk to. What she felt for Obi-Wan, it was so different than anything she'd ever felt before it scared her a little. Willow would have just the right words to make her either feel better or laugh about it. Buffy slid off the bed and landed softly on the floor next to it. She reached under and pulled something out from underneath it. The box was small, hardly big enough to fit a pair of shoes, and square, but it held something Buffy had never thought she'd have again.

-Two Months Ago-

"I know it's hard for you," Obi-Wan said, walking over and sitting down next to her on the couch. She looked up at him as he sat and sighed; he didn't really know, but it was nice of him to try. That morning she had woken up and realized it was Dawn's birthday, or would have been, if the times were the same here as they were there. She had rolled over in bed and cried, not able to hold back the sadness that overtook her. It had filtered through the bond to Obi-Wan, and he too had felt the immense sadness. After a while she had come out into the living room and moped around a little, unsure of herself. And Obi-Wan, just as unsure how to help, had stayed out of her way, for a while.

"I just miss them, it's kind of like they're dead, but I know they're not." Buffy sat up and looked around the small living room. There were two holopictures on the wall, one of Anakin and Obi-Wan, probably taken a good five years ago, and one of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, taken almost fifteen years ago. She'd had a picture of her family, when she'd died; she'd tucked one into her pocket, just so they'd all be close even when they were fighting the First. But she'd woken on that planet, naked and with no picture. It might make things easier, her not having the picture, not having a constant reminder, but if she could have any one thing it would be that picture. After a little while he fixed them a cup of tea and sat while she told him a little about her sister. Something she didn't do often was open up about her past, so he had no problem sitting and listening. After talking Buffy had wanted to train, anything to take her mind off the sadness lurking in her.

That night when Buffy had gone back to her room there was something sitting on her bed, something that had not been there when she'd left that morning. It was a small white piece of paper that looked to have been folded in half. There was writing on the back and when Buffy picked it up to read it she realized it was picture paper. She flipped it over and was shocked to see the six smiling faces of herself and her family. She flipped it back over and looked down at the writing.

_Courtesy of the PTB. _

It was the picture she'd had on her when she died, not just a replica but _the_ picture. She couldn't believe it, why had they sent her this? Was it some kind of a reward? Or did they feel bad about tearing her away from her family then leaving her with nothing of them? Whatever it was Buffy was thankful. She tucked it into a book and kept it on the table by her bed. Later she'd found a small pretty box for it and it went under her bed.

-End Flashback-

The thought that the PTB could send her stuff here made her think, maybe there was a way home. Sometimes she'd ponder this; maybe after she'd helped Anakin not become a very bad man she'd be able to find a way home. Mostly she knew this was just a pipe dream, but sometimes she'd entertain the thought that she might be home someday.

-o-

"Obi-Wan?" Buffy called a half an hour later when she came out of her room. The living room was empty but Obi-Wan's cloak was sitting by the door, ready to go, so he was still here somewhere. She looked towards his door, but it stood open, and empty. She took a deep breath and took down her blocks in her mind for just a moment. _'Obi-Wan?...Master?' _Buffy thought, only adding the 'Master' as an afterthought. She never really thought of him like that, which was probably one of her problems; if she thought of him as her teacher and not her friend she wouldn't be in this mess.

'_Yes?' _Obi-Wan thought and Buffy could hear the chuckle behind the word and knew that he was smirking from the tone of his thought.

'_You coming master?' _she thought, keeping all irrelevant things out of her head. She had come to find, quite surprisingly, that she had a great aptitude for making her mind do what she wanted it to.

'_Just a sec,' _he thought and Buffy smiled at the phrase he had obviously picked up from her; she wondered if he was aware that he was doing it. She thought back over the last few months, wondering if she was doing the same thing. A particular day came floating to the top of her memory and she smiled realizing that, yes, she was taking after him, though, maybe not in speech.

-Four Months ago-

"More so than Skywalker even." Buffy swung her lightsaber down and around just barely missing Obi-Wan's arm. She stepped back then went down and to the left, nicking his knee with the tip of her lightsaber. She looked up at Obi-Wan and smirked. "And after only being his Padawan for two months, amazing." Buffy sighed as she and Obi-Wan continued to duel. There was a group of about fifteen Jedi Knights standing off and back to her right, just out of her sight, and they were talking about her. She shouldn't be able to hear them, and any normal person, or non Jedi wouldn't have been able to, but she was neither.

"The way she fights, it's unbelievable, as if she's just taken the knowledge right out of his head," she heard a low female voice say and had to stop herself from taking her eyes off a fast approaching Obi-Wan. He could hear them too, she could see it in his face, but he was doing a better job of ignoring them, he had more practice at it, she was sure. Having had very little experience with a sword, except for the occasional beheading, it wasn't hard to forget what she had learned and start fresh. She couldn't help it if she picked up a few of his moves, isn't that what teaching was about?

"A good fighter she is, well versed in lightsabers she has become." Buffy smiled at the familiar voice as she blocked a hit from Obi-Wan, but only just barely. She was trying not to listen to the goings on behind her, but she wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"Her technique is just like Kenobi's, she's copying him, move for move," Buffy heard a voice say, it was a voice she had come to know well in the two months since she had started here. Not a very pleasant voice at that; Buffy and Master Kuro did not see eye to eye. Kuro didn't like Buffy being trained, and didn't hide her feeling at all.

"Harshly you judge, Master Kuro," Yoda said and Buffy nodded once before dipping and rolling away from Obi-Wan's attack. She didn't think she was exactly like Obi-Wan, sure she had learned a lot from him, maybe even picked up a few of his moves, but she still tended to give Giles a lot of credit for a lot of her moves too. After all, he had been her first teacher in the 'staying alive' department.

"Learned well, she has," Yoda said and Buffy smiled, happy, for some unknown reason, to have Yoda's approval.

'_Keep your mind here, Padawan.'_ Buffy blinked at the thought, still not fully used to talking this way of communication. _'Do not let your surroundings distract you,'_ Obi-Wan thought, seconds before he caught her on the shoulder. Buffy pulled her mind back to the fight and blocked a few more hits before she got Obi-Wan in the shoulder as well.

"I still cannot believe you let her in here Master Yoda, she is much too old to learn," Master Kuro said and Buffy couldn't help but hearing, not that Kuro was keeping her voice down or anything. Her mind elsewhere, Buffy didn't see Obi-Wan's leg kick out in front of him, taking her own legs out from under her; her lightsaber skidded away as his lightsaber came bearing down on her. He brought it to a stop right next to her neck, not even an inch from her skin.

"Now you're dead," he said, bent down over her, looking her in the eyes. Buffy nodded her head, thankful they were using training sabers. "Here. Now. Focus," he said, switching his lightsaber off. He clipped it to his belt and held out a hand to her. Buffy smiled as she reached up and let him help her to her feet.

"Do not let the thoughts and opinions of others distract you," Obi-Wan said as Buffy collected her lightsaber. "The only thing that matters is here," Obi-Wan said, tapping his head with his middle finger, "and here," he said, putting his hand on his heart.

"Yes Master," Buffy said, nodding her head once. She was having a little trouble getting her footing here, but she knew it would come, eventually.

-End Flashback-

Buffy still avoided Master Kuro at every turn, something about her put Buffy off, and it wasn't just her attitude about her.

'_Reminiscing?'_ Obi-Wan thought and Buffy shook her head throwing up her blocks all around her mind. She hadn't realized she was broadcasting, had he seen_ just_ the memory?

"Ow," Obi-Wan said from behind Buffy, surprising her. She turned and saw he was rubbing his head, as if he had a head ache. "There's no need to block me out," he said and something caught Buffy's eyes. "I would never intrude; you just tend to broadcast when you're not paying attention."

"Sorry master," Buffy said, staring at him for a moment trying to decided if she liked it or not. "You shaved," she pointed out for him. His eyes went wide and his hand went to his chin in a rush.

"I what!?" he asked, mock shock written all over his face. "Well, look at that, I guess I did." Buffy stared at him for a long moment and then sighed. Yep, it looked really good on him, ten years off, just like she thought it would.

"It looks good," she said finally after a very long silence. "You look too young to be a Knight," she said, trying for a smile, but even that felt odd to her. She knew this was going to be bad, she just couldn't find her bearings with him now.

"Thank you?" He voiced it as a question because her voice had held a bit of hesitation, and he was very good at reading tones. She smiled brightly at him and nodded her head.

"It looks really good," Buffy told him, really meaning it. He smiled at her and nodded his head once.

"Should we go?" he asked, heading towards the door.

"Do we have to?" Buffy asked, following after him. "I mean, would they really miss us?"

"You know we do," Obi-Wan told her, a small smirk on his face. She could tell he didn't really want to go to this thing either; he just wasn't vocal about it.

"We could...spar!" Buffy said, nodding her head, an excited smile on her face. Anything to get them out of this stupid dinner.

"Why do you not want to go?" Obi-Wan asked, opening the door and stepping out. Buffy just stood inside their apartment and sighed. She blew her hair out of her face and stepped through the door too.

"I don't get along with politicians," Buffy said, looking up at him as they walked down the hall. He had on what Buffy had nicknamed his 'dress robes' and his lightsaber.

"Padme?" he pointed out and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"That's different," Buffy told him.

"How?" Obi-Wan asked and she smirked.

"Well, I don't think Padme has any plans to turn into a huge snake and try to eat everyone anytime soon." Buffy smirked at his very confused look.

"Turn into a-"

"Very large snake," Buffy said, nodding her head. "It happened, when I graduated from high school, that's like, finishing school, kind of, the mayor of our town turned into a huge snake that I had to blow up." Obi-Wan nodded his head slowly as if taking this all in. Finally after a long moment a huge smile broke out over his face and he looked down at Buffy.

"I don't think anyone there will be turning into a snake," he told her and she glared at him.

"So says you," Buffy said, stepping onto an elevator behind him. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder and her eyes flew down to the point of contact. She was staring at his hand, lightly resting on her shoulder, and she had a sudden urge to reach up with her hand and cover his.

"Elisa?" he asked, calling her back to the moment.

"Sorry," she said, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice. Oh God, she was going to have to get this under control. She couldn't be thinking about him like this, _at all_. "What did you say?"

"I said you'll be fine," he said, looking a little concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, nodding her head. "Really."

"Ok," Obi-Wan said, removing his hand from her arm. "Just take a deep breath. You'll be fine." Buffy nodded her head as she took a deep breath. The doors to the elevator opened and they stepped out into a room full of people, laughing, talking, and some arguing. Buffy looked around at all of them and ran her hand through her hair; there were a lot of them.

"Who's hosting this little shindig again?" Buffy asked as she and Obi-Wan walked through the crowd.

"Bail Organa," Obi-Wan said, nodding and smiling at someone walking towards them. "We were staying at his house in Alderaan when you...dropped in on us." Obi-Wan smirked down at her and then looked up as the man approached.

"Obi-Wan," he said, looking from Obi-Wan to Buffy and back again. He was tall, a good foot taller than Obi-Wan and had jet black hair and a small goatee. He had a very welcoming, genuine smile and Buffy liked him right away.

"Elisa," Obi-Wan said, looking down at her then to him. "This is Senator Bail Organa, Bail, this is Elisa, my-"

"New apprentice, I've heard," Bail said, nodding his head. Buffy liked him even more now; he hadn't used the word Padawan. "So good to finally meet you," he said, holding out his hand. Buffy took it and was not surprised by the firm grip.

"I may have borrowed something from your wife's-" she paused and looked up at Obi-Wan. _'Wife?'_ she thought and Obi-Wan smiled.

'_Yes, wife,'_ he told her and Buffy nodded her head and looked back at Bail.

"I borrowed something from your wife's closet, sorry." Bail looked between the two of them and nodded his head.

"No harm done, I'm sure she hasn't even noticed," he said, smiling down at her, winking. Buffy wondered if his wife had closets full of clothes; he didn't seem like the kind of guy who could be married to a girl like that, but you never could tell.

After talking with Bail for a few more minutes they moved on, talking to a few other Jedi and a few other Padawans. Buffy laughed as Obi-Wan told her the history of some of the senators that were there. Every once in a while Obi-Wan would smile down at her and take her by the arm, leading her here and there, never noticing the way her breath would hitch for moment at his touch. Buffy kept her blocks up all night, trying desperately to think of a way to lessen her reaction to him. There had to be something she could do, otherwise he was going to know before the week was up.

"Master Jedi." The voice made Buffy's whole body go stiff and chilled her down to her bones. Buffy and Obi-Wan turned at the same time coming face to face with an older man; he had a very large smile on his face, but it was a very telling smile. It was a smile of a man who knew he could get anything he wanted with a single word. Buffy hated smiles like that. There was something about this guy she didn't like, and he'd only said two words so far.

"Chancellor," Obi-Wan said, smiling at him. "I don't believe you've gotten a chance to meet my new apprentice Elisa."

"No," he said, shaking his head, reaching out to shake Buffy's hand. Buffy looked down at his hand and hesitated a moment before she took it and shook. All her spidey senses were telling her this was not a nice guy. "But I have heard many things about her, quite the student."

'_Huge snake,'_ Buffy thought and Obi-Wan looked down at her before looking back to the Chancellor.

"Master Yoda tells me you've learned quite a lot in the short time you've been here," he told her, a smile plastered on his face. Buffy wasn't sure if he was just a scum bag or a real bad guy, but she was sure she didn't like him.

"Thanks," Buffy said, trying to keep the hard edge out of her voice. The Chancellor nodded his head, smiling thinly at Buffy.

"I won't keep you from the party, good evening," he said, turning and walking away from them. Buffy shuddered as she watched him go and then turned back to Obi-Wan.

"Ok, so, who's he?" Buffy asked, a feeling of calm spreading through her now that he was gone.

"That, was Chancellor Palpatine," Obi-Wan said, looking down at her. She could tell that he thought about as much of him as she did.

"Well," Buffy said, taking a deep breath, "I don't like him."

"Come, Yoda should be around here somewhere and I told him we'd say hello," Obi-Wan said, smiling down at her, purposely changing the subject. Buffy nodded her head and let her mind drift away from Palpatine. But she was going to keep a close eye on him, whenever she could.

"Yes Master," Buffy intoned, smiling up at him as he rolled his eyes.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Padme?" Buffy asked, smiling over the hololink. "How is everything there?"

"Everything is great," Padme said, her eyes bright and cheerful. "Anakin is working with my father at the shop; my dad never quits raving about Anakin's skill at putting things back together," Padme said, looking Buffy over, her eyes fell a little and she looked worried.

"How are you?" Padme asked, hoping nothing was wrong. Buffy opened her mouth to tell her about her vision, to explain to her what she thought it meant, but she stopped. This wasn't Willow she was talking to and while she trusted Padme a great deal, she wasn't sure if she was ready to share something like this with her.

"Things are good," she finally said, pulling up a half way convincing smile. "Training is beginning to get harder, but it's more fun that way." Padme laughed a little at this and smiled.

"Anakin still does his exercises every day, and he meditates before we go to bed," Padme told her and Buffy laughed a little, she was not surprised by that.

"Elisa we- Oh," Obi-Wan said, looking to the hololink sitting on Buffy's desk. His face fell a little at the sight of Padme and Buffy wondered what was wrong. "Hello Padme."

"Hello Obi-Wan," Padme said, smiling at him. "I'll let you go Elisa; Obi-Wan must have something important to tell you, barging into your room and all." Both girls looked up to Obi-Wan who had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

"I do," he said, nodding his head.

"I'll talk to you later Padme, tell Annie hi for me," Buffy said, rolling her eyes when she was facing Padme again. Padme laughed and nodded her head.

"I will," she said, looking to Obi-Wan. "I'll talk to you later Obi-Wan."

"Good-bye Padme," Buffy said before the hololink went off. She turned to Obi-Wan and smirked at him. "You had news?"

"We have just been assigned a mission," he said and Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed as she turned back to her desk to put the hololink away.

"Who are we baby-sitting this time?" she asked, the irritation and frustration evident in her voice. In the last six months they had been on a total of three missions, all body guarding missions. Obi-Wan himself was a little frustrated with their missions, but he knew it would take the council a while to trust her as he had come to trust her.

"No one," he said and she turned to look at him, her eyes slightly suspicious. "There's a bounty hunter who is killing off senators who opposed the use of the clone army and-"

"Padme!" Buffy exclaimed, her eyes going wide in alarm as she stood up.

"Yes, they are afraid Padme may be in danger, but she has Anakin, she's well protected," Obi-Wan said and then Buffy understood.

"Are going to track down this bounty hunter?" Buffy asked, a small smile playing on her lips. "Because we've done that before, and it didn't work so well last time."

"I think it turned out ok," Obi-Wan said and Buffy caught the telling smirk on his face. It had worked out ok, in the end.

"Right, when do we leave?" she asked, starting out of her room after Obi-Wan.

"Tomorrow morning," Obi-Wan told her and she nodded her head. It was just coming up on her normal meditation time, though she was a little nervous about meditating again, she was afraid of what else it might reveal to her.

"Elisa," Obi-Wan said, turning to her as they walked into the kitchen. He would make tea, as always, then they would meditate and then head to bed. It was a nightly routine for them, one Buffy had come to enjoy quite a lot. "Are you alright?" he asked as she sat down at the table across from him. "You've been a bit tense as of late."

"I'm fine," Buffy said, shrugging her shoulders, she had never been a fabulous liar. "Getting a little restless maybe," she said; that sounded plausible to her, at least a little bit. Obi-Wan looked down at her, obviously not buying it. But he nodded his head anyway and went about making them tea. Tomorrow they would be off fighting and looking for bad guys, no time to worry over feelings and tension. Buffy sank back in her chair and hoped for a night of empty meditation and emptier dreams.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Anakin, this is ridiculous," Padme said as she watched him pace back and forth. He was home with her, when he should be at his job with her father, because he was afraid she wasn't safe. They had heard over the comlink, from Yoda, about the bounty hunter killing the senators who opposed the clone army. Now, Padme was still in office, and planned to be till they decided to have kids, but she didn't openly oppose the clone army anymore. They had saved her, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Elisa, and while she still had her issues with it, she wasn't very vocal about it.

"And if that bounty hunter shows up here, coming for you?" Anakin asked, turning to look at her. He seemed, for all who didn't know him, to be perfectly calm, almost too calm. But Padme could feel his inner turmoil over this new threat. He worried that he wouldn't be able to protect her, that by leaving the Jedi he had opened them up to possible danger.

"I'll be fine," Padme told him as she stood up and smiled evenly at him. "You should go to work."

"No," Anakin said shaking his head as he walked over to his workbench. He picked up one of his many projects and turned it over in his hands. "I will stay here, till the danger has passed."

"And next time?" Padme asked, coming up behind him as she laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Next time?" Anakin asked, turning around to look at her; he looked a little confused.

"The next threat, the next bounty hunter, Anakin, they're always going to be out there," Padme said, taking a deep breath. "Are you going to stay with me every time something like this comes up?"

"I-"

"I can take care of myself, I have been doing it for a very long time." She touched his arm and smiled sweetly at him. "I love you, but I don't need you to watch over me. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can," Anakin said, nodding his head; he sighed and ran his hand through his rapidly growing hair. He trusted her to take care of herself, really he did, but if something were to happen to her. He took a deep breath as she smiled up at him.

"Then please Anakin, go to work, help out my father." Padme reached out and followed his hand through his hair. She smiled at him as she stood up on her tippy toes and kissed him.

"I'll go," Anakin said and Padme nodded her head, happy that she had gotten through to him. "But when I get home we're going to start on your training."

"My training?" Padme asked, now slightly confused.

"Well, if you're going to be here, alone, you should at least know how to fight, and some blaster practice wouldn't be a bad idea." He stopped at the look on her face, like she was holding back a laugh. "I just-"

"No," Padme said, shaking her head. "It's a good idea, and who better to show me how to fight than you?" Anakin nodded his head and Padme reached up and kissed him again then stepped back.

"I'll see you tonight when I get home," Anakin said, kissing the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too, Anakin," she said, walking him to the door.

-o-o-o-o-

"Distract them?" he said, his voice rough as he looked down at the figure hovering on the hololink. "What do you mean, distract them?" he demanded, shaking his head, trying, and failing, to keep the rain out of his face.

"Keep them out of my way," the cloaked figure said, his voice harsh and demanding.

"I thought you wanted the senators out of the way? What is this about distracting a few Jedi; this isn't what I signed on for. I'm a bounty hunter, not a distraction."

"And I'm the one paying you. I don't care what you do with them, so long as they are out of my way, Jedi Kenobi has gotten in my way one too many times. And his new apprentice is-"

"Wait," the bounty hunter said, his lips curling into a sneer. "Do you mean Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

"I do," the cloaked figure said, his voice holding a hint of amusement.

"Well," he said, stepping out towards his speeder. "That changes things." The rain seemed to fall harder the farther out on the landing pad he went. "I can do anything?"

"So long as they stay away from Skywalker and the Senator," the figure said, nodding his head.

"Well then," he said, laughing bitterly. "I have just the plan," he said and the figure nodded his head once then disappeared. Kenobi wouldn't even know what hit him. He jumped into the speeder as he tucked the hololink away; this had just gotten so much more interesting.

-o-o-o-o-

"Elisa," Obi-Wan said, looking down at her sleeping form. She groaned as she opened her eyes, she was remarkably easy to wake up. She sat up in bed and looked from him to her window; obviously telling him it was still the middle of the night.

"What?" she asked, already pulling the covers back.

"The council has intercepted a transmission, we know who the bounty hunter is going after next." Buffy's eyes lit up and she jumped out of bed, narrowly missing running into Obi-Wan as she ran to her closet.

"I'll be ready in five minutes," she told him, pulling something down and throwing it on the chair behind her. Obi-Wan nodded his head as he walked out of her room. The council had contacted him minutes ago telling him their news. She would be happy to know they weren't going to have to go off world; the bounty hunter, it would seem, was coming to them.

"Let's go," Buffy said as she swung her cloak on over her shoulders and headed towards the door. She turned back to look at Obi-Wan, he was just standing there, staring. "Obi-Wan?"

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head, smiling at her. "I'll fill you in on the way," he said, heading towards her. She nodded her head and the door in front of her opened and they both headed towards the hangar.

-o-o-o-

"And you don't think that's a little...odd?" Buffy asked as they flew through the night. It was close to morning and there were a few other speeders in the air now, not many, but a few.

"Odd?' Obi-Wan asked, looking over at her.

"I just mean, you don't think it's a little too convenient that you guys just happen to intercept the name of the next senator to be killed?" Buffy asked as Obi-Wan turned back; they sat in silence for a moment and then Obi-Wan nodded.

"Perhaps we should use caution then?" he asked and Buffy looked over at him, there was some kind of look on his face that Buffy couldn't place right off. Finally it hit Buffy and she shook her head.

"So you were already suspicious?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Figures, just when it looks like I might know something you don't." She leaned back in her seat and watched the speeders zip past. "So what's the plan then?"

-o-o-o-

"Chancellor," Anakin said, smiling at the man in the hololink. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Anakin," Palpatine said, smiling at him. "I have heard this distressing news of the senators being killed. I wanted to be sure you and Padme were taking precautions."

"We are," Anakin said, nodding his head, a small smile on his face. "I'm giving Padme a few lessons on fighting and such."

"Good, good," Palpatine said, nodding his head. "Are the two of you planning on staying on?"

"Yes," Anakin said, nodding his head, wondering now where this was going. It almost seemed to him like he was fishing for information.

"Alright, if you're sure it's safe," Palpatine said, nodding his head. "I'm glad to hear you're being careful."

"We are," Anakin said, nodding his head, a funny feeling filling his mind. "Thank you for calling Chancellor," Anakin said, nodding his head.

"My pleasure," Palpatine said, smiling again at Anakin. "I will talk to you later when you two are back on Coruscant for a while."

"Of course," Anakin said, putting the hololink down when Palpatine disappeared. That had been a little odd, even for Palpatine, who seemed to call to check up on them at least once a month. At first it had seemed to Anakin that he was just worried about them adjusting to such a radical change, but now, he wasn't so sure.

"Annie," Padme said, coming in the side door from the small garden she had on the side of their house. "Who was that?" she asked, placing the basket of veggies on the counter by the sink.

"The Chancellor," Anakin said, turning to smile at her. She had a small smudge of dirt on her cheek.

"Oh," Padme said, nodding her head, turning back to the sink. Padme didn't like the Chancellor much, not after she found out how he manipulated Jar Jar into voting him the emergency power. "I'm going to make soup for dinner, Mom and Dad are coming."

"I'll make sure the 5X-2 motor I'm working on is cleaned up then," Anakin said, smirking at her as she spun around to glare at him.

"Please tell me you didn't bring that thing into the house?" Padme asked, visions of oil and grime everywhere. Anakin walked over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. He pulled away, still smirking at her, then turned and walked out into the living room. She shook her head, sure he wouldn't have really brought a motor into the house. She leaned over the sink as she cleaned and sliced a few veggies, but after a while she couldn't take it anymore. She turned and ran into the living room to see if he had brought it in. Anakin was sitting on the floor, his legs folded under him, his eyes closed - he was meditating.

She walked over and brushed his hair out of his face, knowing her touch would not interfere. He was very hard to bring out of a meditation when he wanted to be. She smiled at the small smile on his lips and hoped he wasn't too worried about her. She looked around the room, no motor in sight. She laughed at herself as she made her way back into the kitchen to work on the soup.

-o-o-o-o-

"Arfour, how many life signs?" Obi-Wan asked as they pulled up next to the home of the senator they were going to try and save. Arfour beeped twice and Obi-Wan looked perplexed.

"Are you sure?" he asked and the little droid beeped twice again and Obi-Wan nodded his head, a deep frown on his face. "Yes I know, I know, you don't make mistakes."

"You're going to have to teach me how to understand him" Buffy said, looking over at Arfour who beeped at her and she smiled, it sounded like a friendly beep.

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head as he brought the speeder down softly, making little to no noise. "Arfour said there's only one life sign, and Senator Stinten has a staff of around 15 people, not including the droids."

"Live-in staff?" Buffy asked, getting the same idea he was. Everyone was either conveniently gone, or they were all dead. And them all being gone was a little too convenient for her, this was not good.

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head, a solemn look on his face as he jumped out of the speeder. Buffy followed behind him and staying to the shadows they made their way towards the house. 'Fifteen people, all dead, and for what?' Buffy thought, shaking her head, trying to subdue the anger rising in her chest. Obi-Wan looked back at her and she could read the look on his face, calm down, it said very clearly.

'_Sorry,' _Buffy thought and Obi-Wan nodded his head. They made their way towards a side window and Obi-Wan opened it with no problems at all. Buffy smiled as he stood back so she could slide in first. Obi-Wan joined her moments later and they made their way through the very dark house. Obi-Wan had told her they were going to the house of a very wealthy senator, with very good security, but Buffy was pretty sure it hadn't done him any good.

'_Is he still alive?'_ Buffy asked as they made their way down a hall towards a light.

'_I do not believe so,'_ Obi-Wan said and Buffy nodded her head.

'_Do you think the bounty hunter is still here?'_ Buffy thought, wondering who this guy was, and hoping he wasn't any worse than Jango.

'_I do,'_ Obi-Wan said, holding his hand up when they got to the door where the light was coming from. Buffy stopped and dug into the force, looking into the room without opening the door; she knew Obi-Wan was doing the same, but two 'heads' were better than one.

'_No one's in there,'_ Buffy thought after a moment. Obi-Wan nodded his head and pulled his lightsaber off his belt. There was a small sound of their sabers flashing on and then the light buzzing noise. Obi-Wan pushed the door open slowly and the hall was suddenly basked in light. They went into the room, both very cautious as they crossed the threshold. Buffy had to take a deep breath to keep herself from gagging on what she saw in the room.

The floor was covered in bodies; somewhere around fifteen bodies she was sure. There was blood covering everything, the walls, the floor, and the windows. The senator they had come to help was propped up on a chair at his desk; his head slumped to one side, blood running down his face from the single hole in his forehead.

Buffy was the first to turn and face the door, seconds before a man walked into the room. He wore body armor similar to Jango, only it was red and silver. He had his gun pointed at both of them, surely he must know that wouldn't help him at all?

"Ah, Kenobi," the thick rough voice said from behind the mask. "It has been a while. Still running around with little blonde girls I see." Buffy looked from the bounty hunter to Obi-Wan and back, did they _know_ each other? Obi-Wan took a step towards him so he was now halfway blocking Buffy.

"Magus," Obi-Wan said and Buffy looked momentarily confused, he did know him. "Why does it not surprise me that _you_ are behind this," he said, sweeping his hand back while keeping his eyes on Magus. Buffy was a little surprised by the outrage coming off of Obi-Wan now, he was angry, an emotion she had never really felt from him before.

'_Obi-Wan?'_ Buffy asked and was surprised to have the thought bounced back at her; she looked up at him confused, was he blocking her? 'Why would he do that?' Buffy thought, desperately trying to figure out what was going on. She took a deep breath and regretted it immediately; the air was already beginning to smell of death, a smell she knew well.

"Do you like it?" he asked as he reached up with his free hand and removed his helmet. He had dark red hair, a fact that, for some reason, surprised Buffy. His eyes took in everything around them without once moving his head. There was a scar about an inch wide on his forehead that dipped down towards his right eye. "I worked all night on this little surprise."

"Who hired you?" Buffy demanded, finally deciding they needed some information, and since Obi-Wan seemed a little…off right now, she'd just have to do it. His eyes landed on Buffy and she had to force herself not to take a step back, this guy was majorly scary.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he said and Buffy, never one to miss a beat, rolled her eyes.

"Well yeah, that's why I asked." She took a step forward so she was standing next to Obi-Wan.

"What spunk," he said, stepping towards them. 'Something's not right here!' Her mind was screaming at her. There was something she was missing, something just out of her reach. "You know, she even looks a little like her, don't you think?" His eyes scanned over Buffy and Obi-Wan took a step forward, blocking Buffy again. "Well enough chit chat, time to go." He took a step backwards and then turned as if to leave. "I'll tell Siri you said hello."

Then he was gone. It took Buffy all of five seconds to realize he had been using some kind of hololink, some kind of life size one, something she had not seen before. She looked up at Obi-Wan; he had a sick look on his face as his gaze met hers.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned at his blocks and lack of response. "Obi-Wan?"

"He's going after Siri," Obi-Wan said, looking down at Buffy; he looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Do we know this Siri?" she asked, blinking in surprise when he rushed out the door. She followed behind him, actually having a little trouble keeping up. "Obi-Wan!"

"We have to find out where she is," Obi-Wan said as he climbed back out the window the way they had come. "The council will know."

"Obi-Wan, would you please tell me what's going on?" she asked as they raced to the speeder; he jumped in and she was only seconds behind him. As soon as she was seated they were in the air and he was on the comlink.

"I need a location, access code kenobi22454," he demanded into the com. Buffy looked him over worriedly, this Siri must mean a lot to Obi-Wan. He was in such a rush, who had that bounty hunter been? Who was Siri? Whoever she was Buffy hoped they could find her in time.

"Just a moment," a droid's voice said. Obi-Wan was flying and trying to talk at the same time, she was going to have to get him to teach her to drive one of these things someday so he wouldn't have to multitask.

"Obi-Wan?" Buffy asked, now sounding a little desperate. "Please?"

"Elisa," he said, looking over at her, almost as if seeing her for the first time. "I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. There was something in his eyes, something she was sure she must be misreading. 'Who was this Siri girl?'

"Siri is a very old friend," he explained and Buffy nodded her head, knowing that wasn't all there was to it. This was not the reaction of a man looking for an old friend.

"Friend?" Buffy asked and Obi-Wan shook his head. So he was in love with this girl, was she a Jedi?

"Siri and I, we grew up together. We were padawans together; we went on our first real mission together, with our masters, we-"

"Fell in love?" Buffy asked, knowing where this was going. Buffy tried to school her face into a neutral look, she was totally ok with this information. She was. That twisty feeling in her stomach was worry, that was all.

"I was in love with her for a very long time," Obi-Wan said and Buffy's head popped up at the word 'was'. It seemed a very odd thing for Obi-Wan to say, volunteering information like that was not like him, they had that in common. He 'was' in love with her, did that mean he wasn't in love with her now?

"She'll be fine Obi-Wan, we'll get there in time." Buffy looked down as the radio crackled and the droid came back. She reached out and put her hand on his arm and he gave her a weak smile.

"Name please?" the droid's voice asked.

"Siri Tachi," Obi-Wan said and they waited.

"Siri Tachi is currently stationed on Adega," the droid told them and Obi-Wan nodded his head.

"We're going to need a starship for this," he said and Buffy nodded her head as Obi-Wan headed towards the Temple. Buffy wasn't sure what Obi-Wan's past with this girl was, but she knew they had to get to her before this Magus guy did.

A/N- So, what do you think? For those of you who don't know who Siri is just Google her, she is a real character. :-) I hope you like it so far, thanks for reading, please review!


	8. InBetween B Kidnapped

In-Between B -o- Kidnapped

Anakin wasn't even half way home when he realized something was off, that there was something going on. He stopped his speeder bike and closed his eyes looking into the force, trying to find out what was wrong. In his mind's eye he could see his and Padme's small home, a gift from her parents; it looked fine from the outside. But he could feel it, something was happening inside the house, something very, very bad.

'_Anakin!'_ he heard Padme scream out seconds before her mouth was roughly covered with someone's hand. His eyes snapped open and he shot off towards his house hoping it was a vision, hoping it hadn't happened yet. He made it home in little more than ten minutes, faster than he normally would have. But as soon as he stepped off the bike he knew he was too late. He rushed into the house running from the kitchen to the living room calling out for her.

"Padme!" He screamed taking in the turned over furniture and the broken lamp on the floor. There was blood on one of the pieces lying on the floor and when he blinked he could see Padme slashing it across the hand that was holding her mouth shut. He closed his eyes and tried to regulate his breathing. She wasn't dead, he was sure of that much, he would have felt it if she was dead. He looked around the room, knowing there was something there he needed to see, but he wasn't sure what. He was positive, without a shadow of a doubt that this was not the work of the bounty hunter Obi-Wan and Elisa were chasing, how and why he was so sure was beyond him.

He found an unfamiliar holopad sitting on the arm of the upturned couch, waiting for him. He bent down and picked it up, trying to reach out and see who had placed it there, but he couldn't see anything. He turned it over a few times in his hands as he tried to work on controlling the anger and grief working its way into his chest. He took two deep calming breaths and ran his hand through his hair before he looked down at the holopad again. He opened his palm and placed it right side up and pushed play. A small cloaked figure shimmered into view with his back to Anakin; he turned the holopad and looked down at the hidden man.

"_So much for her Jedi protector" _The chilly voice mocked and Anakin felt a shiver run down his spine at the voice. It was so familiar, and yet he couldn't place it._ "Tell no one, contact no one, her life lays in your hands now Skywalker. Don't bother looking, there are no clues, and don't try a scrambled call, I _will_ know. For now you are to go to Dantooine and wait for me there, we will discuss what it is going to take to get your wife back, alive. Keep this with you, I will be in touch."_

The figure disappeared and Anakin had to resist the urge to throw the little holopad across the room. This was his only link to finding her and he had to keep it safe, he slipped into a pocket in his pants. He hurried out to his and Padme's ship and began to prepare to leave.

-o-o-o-o-

"Come on Obi-Wan," Buffy said jumping out of the speeder. Obi-Wan was at her heels as they headed down the hall towards the main hangar where the starships were.

"We need to inform the council of what's going on and-

"Screw the council," Buffy told him, when he began to hesitate she grabbed his hand and pulled him along after her. "All they'll do is tell you to go after her."

"Actually they'll-

"We're just skipping a step here, it'll be faster." Buffy assured him interrupting him on purpose, she was fully aware of how these councils worked. If they had even the slightest inkling of Obi-Wan and Siri's past they wouldn't let him go after her. They'd send someone else, and it would kill him. So Buffy was going to make him break the rules, just this once.

"Elisa, we need clearance to take a starship." Obi-Wan told her. She turned and a mischievous smile graced her face. She pulled something out of her tunic and held it out to him.

"We already have clearance," She explained as he took the small datapad from her. He read it over and then looked up at her, how had she managed this? "I was planning on taking you to Naboo for your...what do you guys call it...Lifeday." She shrugged her shoulders as they continued on, a little faster now Buffy noticed.

"But still we really should at least contact the council and-

"Nope." Buffy said shaking her head. "As far as they know we're going after the bounty hunter right?" Obi-Wan nodded his head and Buffy smirked in triumph. "Well, that's just what we're doing."

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to argue with her but could find no fault in her plan. They were, after all, still on the same assignment, it had just taken a bit of an unexpected turn. And if he was honest with himself he knew that if the council knew they'd take him off the case, and he couldn't have that. Even if he hadn't seen Siri in years, and even if she wasn't now what she had been years ago, he still needed to see this through. So he let her talk him out of contacting the council.

-o-o-o-o-

Padme blinked her eyes against the harsh light shining in her eyes. She tried to sit up but found that something was holding her down to the bed she was laying on. The events of the day before came flooding into her mind as she remembered that she _wasn't_ safe at home. Her whole body was bound to the bed with some kind of metal and fabric straps, three in total. She lifted her head and took inventory of herself. She was still in her day dress, and she didn't seem to be hurt too badly anywhere. She smiled when she realized she was still wearing all her jewelry as well, they had taken the small knife she had taken to wearing on her ankle, but she was still wearing both bracelets, ah; thank the force that she had a genius husband. Now all she had to do was get the bracelets off one-handed, couldn't be too hard.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"You have her secure?" Sidious asked looking down at the small holopad. The bounty hunter nodded his head a nasty smile on his face. "Do not kill her, I-

"But you said-

"He must see her die!" Sidious demanded and the small holo figure nodded his head quickly the pout fading from his face.

"Of course," The bounty hunter said the nasty smirk back in place. "It will be done; he is on his way now."

"Good" Sidious told him nodding his head a sneer firmly planted on his face. "It must happen in front of him, do not fail me in this."

"Of course," The bounty hunter said nodding his head before he disappeared. The holopad beeped again and he smiled down at it before turning it on.

"Magus" Sidious said and the small figure smirked up at him. "You are doing quite the job of keeping them distracted."

"Thank you" Magus bowed slightly. "They are both on their way towards Adega."

"Have you intercepted all their calls to her?" Sidious asked sitting back in his chair as he turned to look out the window at the city below.

"I have, all their warnings have fallen on deaf ears." Magus reported smirking at the nod of approval he got.

"Find her, and keep them out of my way."

"Will do" Magus nodded his head before he too disappeared from sight. Everything was going according to plan now. He would not fail to bring young Skywalker to his side of the fight.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Why isn't she answering?" Obi-Wan demanded in frustration as they flew through space. He had to resist the urge to bash his fist into the control panel.

"Maybe we're not close enough yet." He looked up startled as Buffy walked into the room. She walked over so she was standing behind his chair and put her hand on his shoulder and smiled as she felt some of the frustration ease away. "She's a big girl Obi-Wan, a Jedi even, I'm sure she can handle herself. Stop worrying."

"I know" he said nodding his head looking up over the chair at her, "We're still so far away, and I feel a little…"

"Helpless?" Buffy supplied and he nodded his head. Buffy walked over to the copilot's seat and sat down. They had gotten a slightly bigger ship this time around, one with lots of room to move around in. Buffy leaned back in the chair, pulled her knees up to her chest and looked over her shoulder at Obi-Wan. She had to get his mind off of what was going on right now. They couldn't get there any faster than they were, and thinking about it was not going to help him.

"When I was sixteen I found out that there was a prophecy about me." Obi-Wan looked over at her, surprised by the sudden change in topic. "The prophecy said that this big bad vampire, the Master, was going to kill me." Buffy smiled at the confusion on his face and nodded her head. "And where I'm from we take…well they take prophecies pretty seriously." Obi-Wan nodded his head as she looked forward and out at the darkness of space. He understood now what she was doing, she was opening up to him, to get his mind off the _now_. "I was only sixteen, and I didn't want to die." Buffy closed her eyes and could see herself back then, so young, not quite strong enough yet to be willing to give up her own life for that of another. Obi-Wan nodded his head finding himself pulled into her story despite his worry.

"And did you?" he asked and Buffy looked over at him a small smile on her face. She nodded her head and sat forward uncurling her legs as she went.

"Prophecies are funny things though." Buffy mused thinking back to her vision of Obi-Wan and Anakin fighting on the river of lava. "It's so hard to read them right. It said I would die, and I did. But it failed to mention that my best friend would bring me back to life. It said that the Master would rise, freed from his underground prison he was magically bound to, and he did. But it didn't say that I would kill him, and I did."

"The prophecy said I'd die and the master would rise. But if I hadn't gone to kill him before he could kill me he wouldn't have been able to kill me and then he wouldn't have been able to leave his prison. But then I wouldn't have been able to kill him. In the end, I think, prophecies are only as good as the belief you put in them."

They sat in silence for a while. Buffy was sure there was some kind of prophecy surrounding Anakin; she just wasn't sure what it was. She remembered Obi-Wan yelling at Anakin after he'd- Buffy shook her head cutting off that line of thought, she didn't want to remember that. But she remembered the words, so full of anger and pain, 'You were The Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy The Sith, not join them! It was you who would bring balance to The Force, not leave it in Darkness!' Buffy looked up in surprise as Obi-Wan jumped up out of his seat and looked down at her, his face covered in shock and fear.

"What?" Buffy asked standing up and looking around. Had he felt something, had she missed something?

"That..." He trailed off looking at her, his face had now gone ash white and he looked like he might be ill. "That was me."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Anakin sat in the back of his starship, his eyes closed and his breathing slow and shallow. He was trying to reach out to Obi-Wan. This man, whoever he was, couldn't possibly know if he mentally contacted Obi-Wan, and he had to at least try. But so far he was coming up short, Obi-Wan was either to tied to Elisa now, or he was somehow blocking his mind completely. He tried again, sending out a call for help.

'_Obi-Wan, are you there?'_ He waited a few seconds but got nothing. _'Padme has been kidnapped; I'm on my way __to __Dantooine right now.' _He shook his head in frustration as he opened his eyes. He refused to get angry; he knew he had to stay calm, to trust in the force and in Padme. He fingered the ring on his hand, the cool metal surprisingly comforting. And then a smile broke out on his face as he stood up. Padme's bracelets, he had almost forgotten she had them. He smiled as he remembered making them for her, it had been her idea…

'_Do you think you could?' She asked leaning over his shoulder looking at the idea she had drawn up for him. He looked over his shoulder at her a wide smirk on his face. 'I mean, after being chained to a podium and almost being eaten by a Nexu I think some kind of lock pick might be a good idea.'_

'_Padme, you are a genius.' Anakin said looking back down at the plans. 'Shouldn't take me too long to set this up, I can even add a few things, make them less detectable.'_

"_Wonderful.' Padme said kissing him on the top of the head. 'I'll leave you to it then, have fun.' Anakin nodded his head and she smiled knowing he was already half absorbed in the ideas._

At the time it had seemed a good idea, an unnecessary idea, but a good one. It had only taken him a week and a half to put it together, and he had added a few extra touches. Mostly to help her, but there was a touch of pretty he had added, for her. It gave him an extra push of hope and strength to know she had them, that she was possibly at this moment working on her own rescue. Anakin walked back to the pilot seat with a small smile on his face. Whoever had her better watch out; she was not fun when she was angry.

-o-o-o-o-

"What?" Buffy asked shaking her head, already ready to deny whatever it was he'd heard.

"In your head, you…I was…" He took a step back as he realized what it was that he had seen. He too began to shake his head, deny what he had just seen. "What _was_ that?!" He demanded blinking his eyes as if trying to rid himself of the sight.

"I'm sorry" Buffy whispered taking a step towards him. "It was, not something you were suppose to see, I-

"Is that the future?" He asked her, his voice shaky as his eyes met hers in an intense stare. Buffy cursed herself, she was not used to this, after six months it was still easy for her to forget, if she wasn't careful he could see everything. And now, now she'd have to show him everything, and tell him everything. Well, that would take his mind off everything going on now for sure.

"Damn it." Buffy cursed shocked by the anger on Obi-Wan's face. "It doesn't have to be, let me explain."

"That's what you were talking about 'I know some things, about your future, I can't tell you though because I'm not supposed to.'"

"Wow, you have a really good memory." Buffy said and Obi-Wan's face darkened just a little. 'Ok, not good'

"Damn right it's not good." Buffy flinched at his words; she hadn't been guarding herself still. She pulled up her blocks and took a step away from Obi-Wan.

"Look, I told you, the Powers That Be, they gave me a mission, I came here to help, you still believe that right?" She asked her voice pleading. If he no longer trusted her, they were going to have even bigger problems here. Obi-Wan took a second longer than she would have liked to nod his head.

"I can show you, you won't like it, it may, color your thoughts about-

"Anakin" Obi-Wan whispered and she nodded her head slowly. "I saw, just a little, your mind, it cut off the thought before-

"Yeah, it's not a pretty scene." Buffy told him walking a little farther away. There was something coming off of Obi-Wan now, it wasn't quite distrust, but it was making her eyes water up and she didn't want him to see her cry. "Are you sure you want to see?" She took a breath and blinked the tears away before she turned around to face him. "I mean, this could wait till-

"No." Obi-Wan said shaking his head taking two long steps so that he was right in front of her. "We need to do this now." Buffy looked down at the controls, there were still at least three hours before they'd reach Adega. She looked back up at Obi-Wan and nodded her head once. She knew though, no matter what happened after this, things would be different. She reached out and placed her hands on his temples and he did the same to her, they both closed their eyes and Buffy took a deep breath. He'd done this once with her a few months ago, to show her Anakin as a child, it had been a very nice experience, she was sure it wouldn't be this time.

Buffy opened her mind, just far enough so he could see the memory. Buffy could smell the sulfur and it made her gag as she opened her eyes. Obi-Wan was now standing next to her, his arms hanging limply at his sides. Buffy didn't want to watch, she didn't want to see this again, but she turned and looked anyway, she didn't want him to watch this alone. The heat from the lava was incredible, hotter than anything she'd ever felt before. It only took a second for her eyes to find the two figures clashing lightsabers down the river bank a ways.

"It's over, Anakin! I have the high ground!" Obi-Wan yelled looking out into the lava where Anakin was, floating on something in the middle of the lava. Obi-Wan took a step forward and moved before Buffy could tell him he couldn't move. But, apparently, in her memory she _could_ get closer. She followed behind Obi-Wan as he walked towards them.

"You underestimate my power!" Anakin screamed back, his eyes were wild and there was a fierce edge to them Buffy had never seen before, and hoped never to see again.

"Don't try it." Obi-Wan begged, and now Buffy could hear the pleading edge to his voice, the love and fear in his voice that she hadn't been able to hear before, back when she hadn't known these two men. Buffy reached out and took Obi-Wan's hand and again had to blink back tears as Anakin took that leap into the air. She closed her eyes, unable to watch it again; she heard Obi-Wan, her Obi-Wan, cry out as the other Obi-Wan cut Anakin's legs out from under him.

"You were The Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy The Sith, not join them! It was you who would bring balance to The Force, not leave it in Darkness!" Obi-Wan screamed at him now moving slowly up the river bank. There were tears streaming down his face as he bent and picked up Anakin's lightsaber. He shook his head and ran, unable to watch as Anakin burned.

Buffy stumbled backwards as Obi-Wan pulled out of the memory quickly. She almost fell but she caught herself on the chair next to her. Obi-Wan was shaking his head, over and over again, just shaking his head. There were tears in his eyes and a look of utter shock on his face.

"I..." he trailed off looking up at Buffy. His eyes looked haunted as he stared at her. "I..." His voice hitched and Buffy moved quickly to him.

"You didn't, you won't." Buffy assured him as she reached up and wiped away the tears that had escaped. "That's not going to happen."

"But-

"No." Buffy said vehemently shaking her head. "You listen to me; I came here to change that." She said taking his face in her hand. "I came here to help him. To stop that. It will never happen. Do you hear me? Never." Buffy whispered the last word. Obi-Wan still looked lost, and very, very sad.

"Did you see his face?" Obi-Wan asked his voice low as he reached up and moved her hand. She nodded her head now afraid she may cry if she opened her mouth. "_We_ won't let that happen." He told her and she nodded her head quickly. Buffy took a breath and when she was steady again she spoke.

"I'm sorry you had to see it." She whispered and he looked her in the eyes. Any distrust she may have felt coming from him was gone. Buffy couldn't help but notice that he hadn't let go of her hand yet.

"Better that I know what we're up against." His voice held a hard edge to it, an edge that had not been there half an hour ago. But his eyes softened after a moment and he pulled her into a hug. Buffy held onto him as she made herself regroup.

"I'm sorry you had to carry that alone" Obi-Wan said finally when he pulled away and dropped her hand. Buffy tried to smile a little and shrugged.

"I'm used to it." She said and he nodded his head. He didn't doubt it for a second, but she needed to learn that she didn't have to hold this stuff alone anymore, now she had him.

"Elisa, you can tell me anything, I promise." Obi-Wan told her and Buffy smiled at him, for real now. Of course she knew better, there were something's she couldn't tell him, and every time she remembered that it broke her heart just a little.

"There's nothing else," Buffy said shaking her head as she swallowed hard. "That's all I've been carrying, really." Obi-Wan nodded his head and Buffy walked back over to the controls, still almost two hours left. "Maybe you should go meditate, regroup?"

"Are you sure-

"I won't touch any of the controls, I promise" Obi-Wan smiled at her and nodded his head. He needed to get his head straightened out.

"I won't be long." Buffy nodded her head and he turned and walked out the door towards the back. Buffy sank into the copilot's seat and sighed. She put up all her blocks again, she couldn't let anything else slip this time, no more screw ups.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Buffy was leaning back in her chair her feet up on the controls and her eyes closed. Obi-Wan had taken that...well. Surprisingly well considering. But Buffy was a little concerned over the second of hesitation before Obi-Wan agreed that he still trusted her. Having his trust, especially now, was very important. Him not trusting her could get them both killed, not to mention Siri. She sighed and tried to relax.

"Elisa?" Buffy jumped out of her seat as she hastily got to her feet and began o reach for her lightsaber at the seemingly familiar voice.

"Obi-Wan?" She asked looking around. But there was no one there. But she had heard someone say her name. She took a few steps forward looking around her as she went. "Master?" She called quietly.

'_Elisa?' _Buffy knew that voice, and it wasn't Obi-Wan's. She shook her head, sure she must be hearing voices, well obviously she was hearing voices, but she wasn't sure if she was _really_ hearing voices. _'Can you hear me?'_

'_Um...yes?' _She thought still trying to puzzle things together in her head.

'_Finally.' _Anakin thought and Buffy was taken back.

'_Can you do this with anyone?' _Buffy thought heading back towards where Obi-Wan was. Whatever Anakin had to say she was sure he'd want to hear it. Speaking of which, why hadn't he just contacted Obi-Wan?

'_No.'_ Anakin thought back and Buffy was surprised by how, nervous he sounded. _'Is Obi-Wan alright?'_

'_He's...fine.'_ Buffy hadn't meant to hesitate, but she wasn't exactly sure how he was now. _'He's meditating. Why?'_

'_I couldn't get a hold of him.' _Anakin thought and Buffy smiled when she finally found him. His legs crossed in a way she thought didn't look very comfortable.

'_Why not just com us?'_ Buffy sat down in front of him and had to resist the urge to reach out and push his much longer hair out of his face.

'_I can't, look Elisa...Something's happened.' _Buffy could hear the fear and worry in his mind now, what had happened?

'_Padme?'_ Buffy thought the smile fading from her face as the confirmation came in not words but images. Anakin's house in Naboo, the living room looked ransacked, something had happened all right. _'Where is she?'_

'_She's been kidnapped, a bounty hunter. I think he's after a ransom.'_ Buffy grimaced at the thought of Padme, locked up and alone.

'_Where are you?'_ she asked trying to remember how to pull Obi-Wan from his meditation without hurting him.

'_Coming up on Dantooine.' _He must have sensed her confusion because he went on. _'It's near Tatooine.'_

'_Your home planet.'_ Buffy thought and she could actually see him nod his head. This whole mind talking still creeped her out a little, at least, doing it all the time did. _'We'll be there as soon as we find Siri.' _

'_Siri?'_ Anakin asked sounding very surprised.

'_She's in a little bit of danger, some bounty hunter named-_

'_Magus?'_ Anakin said and Buffy rolled her eyes. Buffy wondered if she was projecting or if Anakin had a history with this bounty hunter too.

'_Figures you'd know.'_ Buffy thought shaking her head. _'Are you ok?' _She knew he'd know exactly what she was talking about.

'_I trust her; she can look out for herself.'_ Buffy nodded her head and softly tried reaching out to Obi-Wan's mind like he had shown her.

'_Wait.'_ Anakin said before she could fully reach Obi-Wan. Buffy pulled her mind back and sent a mental glare at Anakin. _'Don't tell him, he's probably worried enough about Siri, and for now there's not much you can do.'_

'_Are you sure?'_ Buffy asked watching as Obi-Wan opened his eyes a little, he must have felt her before she fully pulled away.

'_Yes, as soon as Siri's safe, promise me you won't tell him before.'_ Anakin asked and Buffy sighed, like she needed another thing to keep from Obi-Wan.

'_Ok, unless it becomes dire that he know.' _Buffy thought smiling at Obi-Wan. Buffy felt Anakin begin to pull away. _'Anakin.'_ She called and she felt him snap back.

'_Yes?'_ He asked.

She sent him a reassuring mental smile _'May the force be with you.'_

'_May the force be with you too Elisa, good luck.'_ Anakin said then was gone. Buffy leaned back as Obi-Wan came fully awake and she shook her head.

"Hello" Obi-Wan said and Buffy smiled at him.

"Hi" She said standing back up and looking down at him. "We're about an hour out."

"Thanks" He said standing up as well. He seemed more at ease now, calmer. She hoped his meditating had helped.

-o-o-o-o-

Anakin sat with his back to a wall as his eyes scanned the small seedy bar he was sitting in. After his talk with Elisa he had received a communication from this bounty hunter. All he had said was the name of this bar and a time. So here he was, watching and waiting. He wasn't sure what to expect but the small red-headed woman was not it.

"Hello." She all but purred at him as she lightly rested her chin in her hands. "You look a little lost." Her eyes were sweet and held a little bit of a flirtiness to them.

"I'm not." Anakin said his eyes still scanning the bar. "I'm expecting someone so-

"You're looking for me." She told him, the sweetness gone in a flash. "You didn't honestly think he'd come in person, did you?"

"Who are you?" Anakin demanded as he took in everything about her. She didn't look very threatening, but if he had learned one thing in his years with Obi-Wan, it was never judge on appearances.

"You can call me Belle." She said signaling the waitress that passed by. "I'll have Twisted Top and he'll have-

"Nothing." Anakin snapped never taking his eyes off this woman, Belle. Belle shrugged her shoulders and smirked at him. "Where is she?" He demanded as soon as the waitress walked away. "What is it he wants?"

"Revenge." She stated simply as she leaned back in her chair.

"For what?" Anakin asked raking his mind for where he knew that voice from. Who was this bounty hunter, and why was he after him?

"Past wrongs, why does anyone what revenge?" She smiled sweetly as the waitress dropped off her drink.

"He must want something." Anakin said, hating the pleading that was creeping into his voice.

"Oh he does." She said leaning forward over her drink. "But it's not something you're going to be willing to give."

"What is it?" Anakin demanded his fear and anger growing.

"A life for a life." She said her eyes going hard as the smirk on her face twisted into a feral snarl. "He wants the Jedi, Elisa, delivered to him, alive and well."

"I don't...why?" Anakin asked as his eyes went wide and she laughed.

"He wants to look her in the eyes." She said leaning back as a small smile took over her face. "And then cut off her head."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"What is this place exactly?" Buffy asked as soon as they were off the starship.

"It was a mining colony" Obi-Wan told her as they walked across the lush green ground. It was dark, almost too dark since there was no moon out. "The Adegan crystals in your-

"Oh!" Buffy said grabbing her lightsaber. "They're the crystals that make this work." She nodded her head and smiled at him. "What was Siri doing here?"

"It was a classified mission, it didn't say in the mission log." Obi-Wan said as they moved through the woods quietly.

"Is she here? I mean, can you...feel her?" Buffy asked lowering her voice as they walked.

"No" As Buffy's face fell Obi-Wan shook his head and clarified. "I mean I can't feel her. I'm tracking her holocom."

"You can do that?" She asked looking down at the small device Obi-Wan was holding. She clipped her lightsaber back on her belt then regretted it as she felt him stiffen.

"What?" She asked her voice a low whisper.

"We're almost there." Obi-Wan said trying to keep his voice level as they moved. Buffy could hear the worry in his voice though. And she was sure that Siri wasn't the only thing he was worrying about now. 'Good one Summers' Buffy thought to herself placing her hand on her lightsaber when Obi-Wan did the same.

"It should be just on the other side of this river." Buffy looked down at the water, she hadn't even noticed they had come up on it. She nodded her head and started to cross. Obi-Wan followed behind her, both of them were keeping their eyes peeled wide, looking for anything that might move.

They crept up the side of the riverbank slowly, on high alert. Buffy took a deep breath and could smell the scent of smoke.

'_Someone's had a fire'_ she thought looking back at Obi-Wan. He nodded his head and they both started up the side of the embankment. It didn't take them long to get to where Siri had camped.

"I'm sorry." Buffy said looking around at the small camp. It was empty, and looked thoroughly trashed. There had been a struggle, and by the looks of it a lightsaber fight. There were a few small bushes with the tops seared clean off.

"She's alive." Obi-Wan said and Buffy nodded her head. "I would know."

"I don't doubt it." Buffy agreed with him as she walked forward a few steps. There had to be something here, something to show them what their next step should be. She began to look through the few things on the ground. The small things Siri traveled with, the necessities.

"Elisa." Buffy turned and walked over to Obi-Wan, he was kneeling down next to something. She looked over his shoulder and saw the small holopad sitting there in front of him.

"Another message?" Buffy asked kneeling down next to him.

"Another taunt." Obi-Wan growled. Buffy nodded her head; she knew just what he meant.

"We'll find her." Buffy said putting her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her; there was an understanding in his eyes that scared her a little.

"Not until he wants us to, not until he's ready." Obi-Wan picked up the holopad and stood up, Buffy following right behind him.

"Do you want to listen to it now?" Buffy asked and he shook his head pocketing the small holopad.

"Let's get back to the ship first, be on our way off this planet." Buffy nodded her head and followed him out. She knew Obi-Wan was beginning to see this mystery better than she was. She understood what he meant though, this bounty hunter, this Magus; he was definitely calling the shots, for now.

A/N- Sorry for the wait. It's just been a little slow in the coming. Took a while for the juices to flow. :-) Hope you guys like it. Sorry it's so short, the next chapy will be longer, promise. Let me know what you think!


	9. InBetween C Rescuers

In-between C - Rescuers

Anakin was going to have to talk to Elisa again, try and set up some kind of a trap. The bounty hunter, whoever he was, must be a total imbecile if he thought Anakin would readily turn Elisa over to him. He sat back in his chair and thought things over. He was supposed to deliver Elisa to a planet on the outer rim. Belle told him it was called Aeten II, and Anakin knew it was not a friendly planet. There was a Bounty Hunters guild there and that's where he was going. He had set the ship in course and was now trying to think up a plan before he contacted Elisa, _if_ he could do it again. It was hard enough contacting someone he'd had a bond with, like Obi-Wan, when he was so far away from them, but he didn't have a bond with Elisa which made it very, very hard to do.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So what's in the outer rim?" Buffy asked, now that they were on their way. They had listened to the holopad, then both of them had decided it was definitely some kind of a trap.

"Well, Tatooine for one," Obi-Wan said and Buffy nodded her head. "The outer rim is the farthest from the republic, and is greatly known for its criminals and bounty hunters."

"Oh." Buffy said, nodding her head as she looked out the window at the stars. "And this planet we're to meet at?" Buffy asked, looking back at Obi-Wan. "Do we know anything about it?"

"It's one of the most dangerous planets in the outer rim. Basically run by Bounty Hunters. It used to be a place known for its stygium crystals, which are used in cloaking devices, but the supply of them has been almost completely depleted," Obi-Wan said, looking down at the holopad in his hand. "It's a meeting place of sorts, there's also a Bounty Hunters guild there, they use it to hold prisoners until the bounty hunter contacts whoever their bounty is for."

"Right." Buffy said, nodding her head again trying to figure out what was going on. "So, Magus is luring us to this bounty hunters guild, where he has Siri locked up, to most likely kill us. We're going to need some kind of plan here."

"Agreed." Obi-Wan said, nodding his head as he turned in his seat to look at her. There were dark circles under Obi-Wan's eyes and he looked tired beyond the lack of sleep.

'_Elisa?'_ Buffy looked over at Obi-Wan but he was looking at a datapad now and he looked like he was reading something.

'_Anakin?'_ Buffy asked, watching Obi-Wan; he was still reading. _'Is something wrong?'_

'_Have you found Siri yet?'_ he asked hopefully, Buffy could feel the worry coming off of Anakin now.

'_No,'_ she told him, 's_he wasn't where she was supposed to be, there was a fight. Magus has her.'_

'_I'm going to need you two in this after all,'_ Anakin said, sounding torn. _'But you need to find Siri.'_

'_Why do you need us?'_ Buffy asked, keeping her eyes on Obi-Wan.

'_Whoever has Padme, he wants you.'_ Anakin said and Buffy rolled her eyes. She hadn't even been here a year yet and already she had enemies across the galaxy.

'_So, you want to set up some kind of a trap?'_ Buffy asked, taking a deep breath. _'I'm going to have to tell Obi-Wan.'_

'_I know."_ Anakin said and Buffy watched as Obi-Wan looked up at her.

'_Where are you?'_ she asked, smiling slightly at Obi-Wan hoping he wouldn't be too mad at her for keeping yet another secret.

'_On my way to the outer rim, I'm meeting him-'_

'_On Aeten II?'_ Buffy asked then sighed.

'_Yes.'_ Anakin said nodding his head. _'How'd you know?'_

'_That's where Magus has Siri,'_ Buffy said, rolling her eyes. Was it possible Anakin was looking for Magus too, or was he looking for a totally different bounty hunter? And if not what could Magus possibly have against her?

'_Tell him,'_ Anakin said and Buffy nodded her head.

"First off," Buffy said, leaning forward in her seat as she met Obi-Wan's eyes. "This was Anakin's idea," she said and Obi-Wan's eyes went wide at the name. "Just so we have that straight. There's something I need to tell you."

-o-o-o-o-o-

"What did you think you were doing, bringing her here!?" Magus demanded of the man standing in front of him.

"Where else was I going to take her?" he demanded back, looking up at Magus, who was a good head taller than him.

"I'm supposed to be keeping them away from Skywalker, and you bring his wife here?" Magus asked as he paced in front of this amateur bounty hunter. "And I brought the Jedi Tachi here."

"They're all going to die though, right?" the bounty hunter said, a sneer lighting up his face. "What does it matter if it happens here or not? All the better if he sees it I'm sure." Magus glared at the young bounty hunter and nodded his head.

"Fine." Magus said, this was going to take some reworking. He hated it when his plans didn't go just so. He glared at him again and took a deep breath. "This is how it's going to be…"

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Why didn't he contact me?" Obi-Wan asked, calmer than Buffy had thought he would be.

"He couldn't get a hold of you." Buffy explained as she went over everything with Obi-Wan.

"How could he get a hold of _you_?" Obi-Wan asked, sounding a little shocked by the fact.

"I don't know, he didn't say, is that odd, that he can do that?" Buffy asked, leaning back in her chair.

"For most Jedi, yes." Obi-Wan said, nodding his head.

"But not for him?" Buffy asked, nodding her head. There was certainly something that she didn't know about Anakin, something she was going to have to get him to tell her sooner or later, preferably sooner.

"So this bounty hunter, whoever he is, wants you. And has Padme at the bounty hunters guild that Magus has Siri at?" Obi-Wan said, more thinking out loud than asking Buffy, but she nodded her head anyway.

"Are they working together?" Buffy mused out loud and Obi-Wan looked up at her. "I mean, is this just totally coincidence, or are they working together?"

"Are we even sure this is two different bounty hunters?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy nodded her head.

"Well, Anakin is anyway," she told him. Anakin had tried, still with no success, to contact Obi-Wan, but even with his mind open Anakin couldn't get through. So Anakin was talking to Buffy and Buffy was telling Obi-Wan. "And the times are too close, I don't think one person could do all of this at the same time." She paused and nodded her head. "And Anakin said he's heard his bounty hunter's voice, it's not Magus. He recognizes the voice, but isn't quite sure from where."

"So do we have a plan?" Buffy asked after a few silent moments.

"We're going to need some kind of a distraction and-"

"Wait." Buffy said holding up her hand. "I can only listen to one of you at a time." She smiled at Obi-Wan who looked a little taken aback at being interrupted. "Sorry, but you're talking here and he's talking here," she said, tapping her head. "It's a little confusing." She nodded her head randomly and smiled.

"Anakin agrees with you. We're going to need some kind of a distraction." Buffy said a few moments later. "And we kinda have a plan." Obi-Wan did not like the sound of that.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Padme was totally silent as she sat up on the small metal bed; the straps that had held her down were now dangling down the sides of the so called bed. It had taken her a while, a long while, but she had gotten her bracelets off and picked the locks of the straps. Never in her life would she have thought a skill she picked up from one of her hand maidens so long ago would save her life, and not only once, but twice now. She'd have to thank Dormé the next time she saw her. She slipped the picks into her pocket and smiled to herself. She looked around the dimly lit, small room she was in and sighed, there didn't appear to be any doors at all. 'Well, why tie me down if I can't get out?' she thought as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and jumped down. 'There must be a door here somewhere,' she thought as she began to run her hands along the wall. She grinned when her hands slid over a bump in the wall, and another one a few feet from the first, a door. Now all she had to do was figure out how to open it. She ran her hands a little further away from the door and smirked in triumph when the control pad opened out of the wall. It blinked to life when her hands came in contact with it, asking her for a command.

"Open door," she whispered quietly and watched as the screen blinked.

"Command unrecognized, please try again," Padme read and took a deep breath; was it some kind of a password? She could be here for a very long time if she had to come up with a password before the door opened. Padme opened her mouth to try a word but before she could say anything the door slid open.

"I wondered how long it would take you to get out," a voice behind the helmet said. There was something about this voice, something she knew she should know.

"Who are you?" Padme demanded, glaring at him. He just shook his head and reached out and grabbed her arm roughly.

"All in good time dear senator." He sneered out the last word as he dragged Padme from the room.

-o-o-

"Have you informed Darth Sidious of this new development?" he asked, looking down at the holo Magus.

"No." Magus said, shaking his head. "It will still work. There is no need to inform him."

"I agree," he said, nodding his head, a small smirk on his face. "I am almost there; I'll be making sure there are no more screw ups."

"Understood." Magus said, nodding his head. "When will you be here?"

"Within the hour," he said before he clicked off and leaned back in his chair. Stupid bounty hunters. He just hoped everything did go to plan, he'd hate to be them if Skywalker escaped his master again.

-o-o-

"This is your plan?" Obi-Wan asked, a little while later.

"Well, we could just land in their hangar, I'm sure they'd just give us Padme and Siri," Buffy said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Obi-Wan glared at her and then shook his head.

"I don't like you going in alone," Obi-Wan said, looking back at the new flight plan.

"I'll be fine. You two will be right behind me," Buffy said, smiling at him, her eyes full of trust. "I'll go in, the ever willful new Padawan, make it look like Anakin told me what was going on and sent me there alone to help him save Padme."

"They'll never believe that Anakin would betray us," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head, which by now was starting to ache.

"Sure they will. People will do anything for love. I'll just get myself caught and then Anakin will show, I'll do the 'you're just in time' bit and he'll act as though he meant for me to get caught." Buffy smiled as she stood up and began to pace behind their chairs. "And while we're working on, that you find Siri. Four Jedi against however many bounty hunters? I'm sure we'll be fine."

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Where is she?" A bounty hunter asked, stepping forward as soon as Anakin walked through the doors, the fully locked heavily guarded doors.

"She's here; she thinks she's helping me save Padme." Anakin told him with a glare on his face. "Where's my wife?"

"As soon as I have the Jedi, you'll have your wife," he said and Anakin was sure he was being glared at. Anakin glared right back as they both waited. Obi-Wan had told Elisa to put up a bit of a fight, don't make it too easy. So Anakin knew they might be waiting for a while.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Buffy waved her hand in front of the door and smiled in triumph when the locks disengaged and the door slid open without any alarms. 'This whole Jedi deal isn't too bad,' she thought as she pulled her lightsaber off her belt and walked down the hall. The whole building was built into the side of what used to be a mountain mine. But there were no traces of the mine once inside the place; it looked like the inside of a building on a civilized planet. Buffy had an idea of where she was going; Obi-Wan had hacked into the main computers here with the help of Artoo. Buffy was making her way towards the main hall, trying to find out how many they were going to be up against in the end.

"Halt!" A mechanical voice said from behind Buffy and she turned as she switched on her lightsaber. It was a droid, with a blaster. "Unauthor-"

Buffy sliced it in half before it could finish the word. She waited for the sound of footsteps but they didn't come. Maybe they hadn't heard him sound the alarm. She turned and started down the hall once again, heading towards her goal. It didn't take her long to realize she was being watched, some kind of monitoring system maybe. She sent a silent warning to Obi-Wan and hoped he'd get it, then she went on her way.

"Ah." Buffy turned at the sound of a human voice behind her. "I had hoped we'd run into each other again."

"Dooku." Buffy sneered at him as she her ignited her lightsaber. "What are you doing all the way out here? Fighting with the petty criminals now?" Buffy had not expected this, it was a little worrisome. She'd seen him fight Anakin, and she knew she wasn't much of a match, at least not yet.

"Your wit astounds me," he said dryly. "You've been spending far too much time with Obi-Wan." Buffy growled at him as she took a step forward.

"Fortunately for you, I'm going to rid you of that problem," he said. His lightsaber flashed on as Buffy lunged at him, all lessons of patience and planning going out of her mind.

"You stay away from Obi-Wan," she told him venomously as he easily deflected her attack. She side stepped and ducked as he swung at her. Their lightsabers clashed and she smiled at him through the glow. She jumped up and flipped backwards, just missing the ceiling. She took a deep breath and took her stance, she got her mind on the fight at hand and pushed everything else aside. Dooku advanced on her, bringing his lightsaber down as he came. Buffy blocked, then blocked again, all she could really do with him was defend. He was so well trained; it was all Buffy could do to keep up with him.

"You are sadly lacking," Dooku informed her as she blocked another blow. Buffy didn't rise to the bait and was very proud of herself for it. Buffy was forced to step back after almost every blow, Dooku was leading her down the hall towards something and Buffy couldn't chance looking behind herself to find out what it was.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Where is she?" the bounty hunter demanded, stepping towards Anakin. Anakin, though he was trying to hide it, was wondering the same thing himself. She was supposed to have let someone catch her by now. This was not good.

"Perhaps your bounty hunters were unable to apprehend her," Anakin mocked as he glared at the bounty hunter. Anakin was sure now that this was the bounty hunter who had kidnapped Padme in the first place, the one after Elisa.

"You'd better hope not," he said, sneering, as he reached through the open door to his right and pulled in a gagged Padme by the arm. Her eyes went wide when she saw Anakin and she strained towards him for a moment.

"Ah, ah, ah," the bounty hunter said when Anakin took a step towards them. "Don't even think it," he said, raising his bladed gauntlets to her neck. Anakin growled as he stepped back and locked eyes with Padme. She looked relatively calm, considering. Her eyes drifted down to Anakin's hands and a small smile took over her face.

Padme leaned forward ever so slightly, her neck pressed against the bounty hunter's blades, and then very quickly she bashed her head back into the bounty hunter's head. Anakin was sure it hurt Padme more than it hurt the bounty hunter, but it knocked him off balance just enough that Padme slipped away from him before she fell to her knees. Anakin had his lightsaber out and on the bounty hunter before he could even tell what happened. Then there was a flash of light so bright that Anakin had to look away to shield his eyes. When he looked back the bounty hunter was gone.

"Padme?" he asked, rushing to her side. She looked up at him as she raised her hand to the back of her head. "Are you alright?"

"Um…" Padme winced when she touched the spot on her head. "I think..." She blinked rapidly then smiled at him, "I'm just going to..." She trailed off again and her eyes fell shut as she passed out.

-o-o-o-o-

Obi-Wan looked around the corner at the end of the hall he was in, then closed his eyes. He was looking for Siri, and he was using the force to help him find her. She had a very strong signature; he'd always been able to feel it out. But in order to find her he was blocking everything else out. He was pushing his worry for Elisa, Padme and Anakin to the back of his mind. Elisa had come a long way in just six months, he just kept telling himself that as he moved silently through the halls. Obi-Wan was aware of the fact that this base seemed to be unusually empty, he should have run into someone by now. He looked up and stopped when he felt Siri, she was coming in strong now.

"Siri?" Obi-Wan whispered, he heard someone moving on the other side of the door.

"Obi-Wan?" he heard a voice say and smiled. Siri sounded more than a little surprised that it was him on the other side of the door.

"Are you all right?" Obi-Wan asked as he worked on unlocking her door.

"I am now," she said and he could hear the smile in her voice. "How'd you find me?"

"Long story," he told her. He couldn't get the damn door to open.

"You're going to have to use your lightsaber," she told him, stepping back. "I couldn't get the door to open either." Obi-Wan nodded his head knowing she must have tried to use the force too. Magus must have done something to help keep her in.

"This may take a few minutes," he told her.

"I know," she said. She watched, a small smile on her face, as she saw his lightsaber come through the door, melting the metal around it as it went.

Siri tapped the metal hole lightly a few minutes later to check to see that it was cool enough. She smiled when she touched it, perfect. She climbed though and smirked up at Obi-Wan. She took the blaster he handed her with a skeptical look.

"Sorry," he said, shrugging as they made their way down the hall. "I don't have a spare lightsaber."

"That's fine, I know who has mine," she told him, holding the blaster at her side, at the ready.

"This way," Obi-Wan said, turning down a hall to the left.

"Anakin here somewhere?" she asked and he looked back at her, looking a little confused.

"How long have you been on Adega?" he asked as he looked down the hall going right and the hall going left.

"About three months, I was on a stake out with Kinta before that and on a sabbatical before that. I haven't been back to temple in a good eight months. Why? What's happened?" She whispered as they went to the right down the hall.

"Anakin left the order, he-"

"What?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down.

"He got married," Obi-Wan said and she searched him over, he had to be joking, right? "But he is here, yes."

"Wait, he left the order, why is he here then?" she asked, still totally thrown by this. How come no one told her? There must have been an uproar about it at the temple, how had she not heard about it?

"A bounty hunter kidnapped his wife," Obi-Wan explained. He stopped short and held up his hand to her. She nodded and he turned the corner slowly, coming up behind two bounty hunters. He knocked their heads together and sighed as they crumbled to the ground. These two couldn't possibly be the only two here, where _was_ everyone?

"Are you here helping him and just happened to feel me? Because I know the council, they wouldn't have sent _you_ to save me." She didn't mean it as an insult and he nodded his head.

"No, we're here to save you. We were after the bounty hunter who kidnapped you. Magus," Obi-Wan told her and she nodded then stopped.

"Wait. We?" she asked, confused now.

"My Padawan and I," he told her.

"You have a new Padawan? And you brought him here?" she asked, obviously surprised. Padawans, especially new padawans, didn't go on missions like this for a while.

"Yes well, Elisa isn't a normal Padawan," he said, smirking at her.

"Elisa?" she asked and he nodded his head. He took a few more steps then stopped right in front of her. He'd lowered his blocks a little, searching out Elisa.

"Force." Obi-Wan said, shaking his head as he sped up. "We need to hurry," he said, practically running down the hall now. "Elisa is going up against Dooku."

"What's Dooku doing here?" Siri asked, following closely behind Obi-Wan.

"I don't know."

"Nor are you going to find out," a voice said from behind them. Both turned at the same time and found Magus walking towards them, a smirk on his face and Siri's lightsaber in his hand.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Buffy knew she was losing and it was really irritating her. Not to mention it was starting to scare her a little. She had never met someone who was so much better at fighting than she was. There were people that were stronger than her, but that was different. Dooku, he was just _better_. Buffy could feel it as her strength began to fade, and by the way Dooku was smirking at her he could feel it too. She blocked, then took a step back, then blocked again. She figured out what he was going to do only a second before he leapt up into the air. She blocked both his in-air attack and the swing he took at her when he landed with his back to her.

Buffy cried out in pain when Dooku brought his foot down on the back of her knee knocking her to the ground. She gasped in pain as her lightsaber went spinning away from her. She sucked in a huge belly of air and pushed all the pain out of her head as she turned so that she was facing Dooku. He had his lightsaber only a few inches away from her, and he was smiling at her.

"This would be easier if you'd just give in," he said and a look that Buffy supposed was intended to be charming came over his face. "Kenobi tries, but he's not the best teacher. I could show you things you'd never imagine." Buffy just watched him, she just needed a few minutes; if she could keep him talking, which by the looks of things, wasn't going to be hard, she could put the pain away and then maybe she'd stand a chance.

-o-o-

"Go," Siri said, her voice low as she looked back at Obi-Wan. He began to shake his head but she glared at him as she took a step towards Magus. "GO!" she yelled, firing at Magus now. Obi-Wan felt a sharp pain in his left leg and winced. "Obi-Wan, she needs you, I can take him, you know I can. Now go!" she said, yelling over her shoulder at him. Obi-Wan nodded his head and then ran down the hall they had been heading down. He heard Magus cry out and smiled, fully confident in Siri's abilities.

-o-o-

Buffy kept her eyes up, on Dooku, and away from the bone sticking unnaturally out of her leg. Dooku, for his part, was being the typical evil genius, his 'come to the dark side, we have cookies' speech was really starting to bore her.

"Please," Buffy said, when he finally paused. She gasped involuntarily as she moved ever so slightly. "Does this crap ever really work? I mean, really, how many people have you swayed to the dark side with that speech?" Buffy reached out and caught her lightsaber in her hand blocking just as Dooku brought his down towards her.

"Wounded and you still can't hit me with that thing." Buffy was sure that agitating him further was probably not a good idea, but all the blood was not making it to her head now and she couldn't find it in her to care. Dooku was bearing down on her, his lightsaber pressing down on hers, she was not doing well. Buffy cried out in shock when Dooku backhanded her across the face. Her head swam and Dooku backed off for a moment, then almost faster than she could watch he lunged at her. She didn't even have time to block before he drove his lightsaber through her side.

"No!" She vaguely heard a voice scream out. She watched as everything seemed to slow down, her lightsaber fell to the ground and went out. Her vision blurred and her head began to throb as a burning sensation began to fill her whole body. Dooku went in and out of focus, his face only inches from hers, a sneer curling his lips. The last thing Buffy thought before everything around her went dark was 'I'm so going to kick your ass.'

"Obi-Wan. How nice of you to join us," Dooku said as he slowly pulled his lightsaber out of Buffy and stood up. Buffy's body fell to the side and Obi-Wan's breath caught in his throat. He could feel her, she was still alive, and that was the only thing keeping him from losing it.

"Get away from her," he growled out as he took a step towards them. Dooku's eyes went wide when he saw Siri come around the corner, blaster raised and aimed at him, he ducked just in time to miss being hit by her. Obi-Wan watched as a door to the right opened and Dooku disappeared from view, just missing being hit again. Obi-Wan ran to Buffy and knelt down next to her. He looked at the door, fighting with himself; go after Dooku...take care of Buffy.

"I'll go," Siri said and Obi-Wan nodded his head; she was still breathing, and the wound in her side had obviously been cauterized so there wasn't much bloodcoming from there. Obi-Wan looked up when Siri gasped in pain from a few feet away from them. There was a lightsaber sticking through her chest, her lightsaber. Obi-Wan's eyes widened as the lightsaber disappeared and Siri crumpled to the ground like a doll. Magus was holding her lightsaber in one hand and covering a fatal wound in his chest with the other. He had a nasty smile on his face as he fell to his knees.

"I win," Magus wheezed out before he dropped over backwards.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"What happened?" Anakin gasped when he found Obi-Wan sitting on the floor next to Elisa. He could see Siri a few feet away, and he could feel it, she was gone. Anakin looked down at Obi-Wan; he seemed to be in shock. "Obi-Wan?"

"Dooku got away," Obi-Wan said, looking blankly up at Anakin.

"We'll get him next time," Anakin assured him as he reached out and placed his hand on Buffy's wrist. She was alive; her heart seemed pretty steady for the amount of blood around her leg. It looked as though Obi-Wan had used his cloak to make a crude bandage to stop the bleeding.

"There are two Jedi cruisers entering the atmosphere," Anakin said, trying to avoid looking down the hall. "The bounty hunters saw them coming, that's why this place is so empty." Obi-Wan only seemed to be half listening to Anakin; he was not in good shape. Siri was dead and Elisa looked as though she could be next. Anakin didn't know what to do.

"Did you find them?" Anakin heard Padme's voice over his com. He pulled it off his belt and looked up at Obi-Wan. "Obi-Wan's ok, Elisa is...wounded."

"And Siri?" Padme asked.

"She's gone." There was silence on the other end and Anakin sighed. Padme hadn't ever met Siri, she'd been on an undercover mission when they got married, and hadn't been able to make it out to see them. Anakin was very saddened that she had been pulled from this world so soon.

"How bad is Elisa?" Padme asked and Anakin looked down at Buffy again. All of the bleeding had stopped; the hole in her side hadn't bled at all.

"She's bad," Obi-Wan said, looking up to meet Anakin's eyes.

"Bad," Anakin whispered into the com.

"They should be here any moment," Padme said and Anakin could hear the tremor in her voice.

"Can we move her?" Anakin asked looking down at Buffy. He couldn't tell if she had any injuries to her neck or spine. Obi-Wan nodded his head and slipped his hands under her neck and back, trying to avoid her leg. She groaned when he lifted her up, but made no other sound. Obi-Wan looked down the hall at Siri again and Anakin put his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

"We'll be sure to tell them where to find her," he said softly and Obi-Wan nodded his head. Not that it mattered now; all that was left of Siri was a shell. She was in the force now, gone from this world.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Obi-Wan looked through the force field to the two figures fighting just out of his reach. He knew this dream well, had had it often after Qui-Gon was killed. But even knowing it was a dream he felt compelled to complete it. He paced back and forth in front of the force field, waiting for it to shift so he could make his way through. He continually looked up to see the two figures fighting, but there was something wrong, something had changed. The two figures were no more than two force fields away from him. When the one in front of him shifted he ran forward but was stopped again, still separated from his quarry. And now he could see what was wrong, what had changed. It was Elisa on the other side of the force field, fighting not Darth Maul but Dooku.

He watched as their lightsabers clashed off of one another, blocking then attacking, moving steadily closer to the huge ventilation shaft behind them. She was tiring; she had already sustained a bad leg wound and was not faring well against Dooku's attacks. She blocked as Dooku went for her injured leg and then shifted up to block an upward attack. Dooku shifted back, twisted and with a forward thrust his lightsaber went through Elisa's abdomen, right below her ribs. She caught Obi-Wan's eyes for a second before they fluttered closed and she fell backwards, going right over the side of the ventilation shaft.

"No!" Obi-Wan cried as he bolted up in the chair. His eyes searched the dark room for any threat before he came fully awake and realized it had been a dream. Elisa was not dead, she was in surgery and they were on a ship bound for Coruscant.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin yelled, running into the room, Padme following close behind him; they both looked horrified. He looked up at them as he realized what they must have thought. Both their eyes went to the doors that Elisa lay just behind.

"It was just a dream." Obi-Wan told them, sitting back in his chair. Anakin sat down next to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"So no news?" he asked as Padme sat down across from them.

"No," Obi-Wan said shortly, shaking his head.

"Obi-Wan, why don't you go get something to eat, or-"

"No," he said again, his eyes going to the door. "No," he said again as Anakin opened his mouth to argue. Anakin sighed and nodded his head in defeat. He understood, he knew, even if Obi-Wan wouldn't admit it, what Obi-Wan was feeling right now. If the roles were reversed and Padme was in that room right now a herd of Banthas couldn't keep him from her side.

-o-o-o-o-

Obi wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there, hours it seemed, probably only mere minutes. The med-droid's words continued to reverberate through his head: 'her wound was severe' and 'there seems to be no major internal damage, she's very lucky.' 'Lucky,' Obi-Wan thought in disgust as he looked up into her pale drawn face, her dark blond hair flowing up above her. The bacta tank that surrounded her beeped a quiet rhythm, her heart rate he had been told. 'She was not lucky, if she were lucky she wouldn't have-' He stopped that line of thought and took a deep breath as he stood and walked over to the tank. She was a Jedi, not to mention a Slayer before that, and they always fought, that was all there was to it. He placed his hand on the glass and whispered in her mind.

'_Elisa?'_ he thought and waited. He tried to hold back the dread at the lack of a response from her. It didn't mean anything, she was healing, she'd wake up soon, he knew she would. But he couldn't help thinking how cruel fate seemed to him now, he had lost Siri, a woman he had once loved a great deal, and now Elisa's life hung in the balance. He had to believe she would pull through, he had to, otherwise, he had nothing to hold on to. He jumped a little when a hand landed on his shoulder. The presence of his former Padawan washed over him and he let out a long sigh.

"How is she?" he asked, looking from Obi-Wan to Elisa.

"The med-droid said her life signs are very strong and-" He stopped and had to clear his throat to keep the small sob at bay. "Yoda says her force signature is still very strong as well," Obi-Wan finished, his voice steady as Anakin nodded. Anakin watched as Obi-Wan's eyes drifted to Elisa, she seemed almost frozen in time, a very serene look on her face.

"Padme is having a droid bring in a bed," Anakin said, leading Obi-Wan back to the chair. He was sure Obi-Wan wouldn't leave her side till she was well, and he didn't blame him. It seemed so obvious to him, and Padme, that Obi-Wan was in love with her. How was it that two people could be so close and yet so oblivious to each other's feelings? He could understand it of Obi-Wan better than Elisa. She had grown up knowing emotion and feeling, as he himself had. How had she missed the feelings pouring off of his old master?

"How's Padme doing?" Obi-Wan asked, pulling Anakin from his musings.

"She's well," Anakin said, smiling at him. "The cut will scar, but she'll be fine," he told him, taking the seat next to him.

Obi-Wan looked up to Elisa again. His mind was so fractured, love and duty, duty and love. He had given up love for duty once. But as he looked up into her pale face he realized with a start that he couldn't do it again, didn't want to.

"She'll be fine. She's strong, stronger than we all give her credit for I think." Obi-Wan just nodded his head, unable to speak any more for fear of crying. Unsure what to say himself, Anakin just sat there, next to Obi-Wan, silently hoping for Elisa and trying to give his former master strength, for whatever might come next.

-o-o-o-o-

"How is she?" Padme asked when Anakin came walking out an hour later. He took a deep breath as he walked over to her and pulled her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and felt the fear and sadness rolling off of Anakin.

"She's going to be ok," Anakin said, pulling Padme away a little. "I know she is." Padme nodded her head, smiling sadly. She was so worried, she didn't think Obi-Wan would be able to take it if something happened to Elisa. She didn't think any of them would handle it well.

"Are you sure we should leave him in there, alone?" she asked after a few seconds.

"I think he needs some time to think," Anakin said, taking her hand into his. "He...I think he's a little lost right now."

"I just wish there was something else I could do," Padme said, letting Anakin pull her away from the med wing of the Temple. They walked in silence for a while, both hoping for Elisa to pull through. "I think we should stay here though, I don't want to go home till we're sure she's going to be ok."

"I fully agree, in fact Master Yoda has already had a room made up for us," Anakin told her; that's where they were headed now in fact.

"Very smart man that Yoda."

-o-o-o-o-

Obi-Wan sat down on the freshly made bed and stared up at Elisa. Two days had gone by now, and nothing. Her body, which usually looked so fierce and strong, looked fragile and oh so delicate now. The hole in her side was beginning to heal, much faster than was normal, and her leg, which had been broken in two different places, was all but healed now. Was something else wrong, something they couldn't see, or was she just trying to find her way back? He sat back against the wall his bed was on and sighed as he remembered Yoda's words from earlier.

'Talk to her you should, hear you she will,' but Obi-Wan wasn't sure what to say to her.

"Get better," he finally said after a few minutes looking up at her. "You can't let this thing beat you. Anakin's right, you're stronger than this." It hadn't been a conscious thought, but he had stood up again and was now walking towards the bacta tank. "We need you-" He stopped when he was close enough to the tank that he could look up into her face. "_I_ need you to get better, ok?"

He placed his hand on the tank again but pulled it away quickly when her eyes fluttered behind the small face mask she wore. He could feel it as the panic began to build inside her and yet to him, it was the sweetest feeling he'd ever felt.

'_Elisa,' _he said softly into her mind. Her panic slipped away and her eyes came fully open as she looked around for him.

'_What the hell is this?'_ she asked and felt him laugh; she could feel the slight hysterical side to the laugh and worried. _'What happened?' _

'_You're fine.' _Obi-Wan told her placing his hand back on the tank. _'I'm going to get the med-droid.'_

'_Obi-Wan.' _He looked up at her and she smiled down at him. _'I'm not naked in here am I?' _The smile on his face made her breathe a sigh of relief, whatever was going on and whatever had happened it couldn't be too bad.

'_No,'_ he said and she nodded her head and then blinked in shock at the thought she was sure he hadn't meant her to hear.

'_Obi-Wan Kenobi, what do you mean, 'what a pity!'_' she yelled inside his head before he disappeared out of the room in search of the med-droid. She was sure she heard him laughing inside her head though and it made her smile.

-o-o-o-o-o-

They had moved Buffy into a nice soft bed in the med-wing. It had been two days since she woke up in the Bacta tank and she was looking much better. The hole in her side was almost gone; soon to be nothing more than a small scar and her leg was almost useable again. Buffy was trying to sleep, her eyes closed tight even though she could hear Anakin moving around in her room. She hadn't been able to sleep very well the last two days. Bad dreams she couldn't seem to remember. Obi-Wan sat at her side, his head on the mattress with his eyes closed, he seemed to be sleeping. Anakin didn't want to wake either of them as he set down the new arrangement of flowers that had just arrived for Elisa. This one was from Jar Jar, and they were flowers native to Naboo.

"Hi." Anakin turned around and looked down at Buffy, he'd thought she was asleep. She had a smile on her face as she looked down at Obi-Wan. "How's he doing?" she asked, her voice low so as not to wake him.

"He's fine thank you," Obi-Wan said sitting up, blinking his eyes.

"You're going to get a crick in your neck if you sleep like that," Buffy teased him smiling at him. She flinched a little as she moved to sit up, and Obi-Wan went on high alert.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking her over.

"I'm fine. Obi-Wan! I'm fine," she said, smiling at him. He nodded his head and sat back down in his seat. "Slayer healing, I'll be fine by tomorrow." Ok, that may have been a little over exaggerating, but she'd be ok very soon.

"You were in that bacta tank for almost three days," Obi-Wan said and Buffy reached over and took his hand. He looked up at her and she smiled at him.

"But I'm fine," she said, as the door slid shut behind a retreating Anakin. "You worry too much." She looked at the door Anakin had just left through and smiled.

"So, is this Siri going to come see me, or am I going to-" She stopped at the look on Obi-Wan's face. She sat forward and winced a little. "Obi-Wan, what?"

"Siri, she...she didn't-"

"Oh no." Buffy said, shaking her head. "No," she whispered, sitting back in her bed. She didn't know what to say to him, knew there was nothing adequate at a time like this. "I'm sorry." Obi-Wan nodded his head and took a deep breath. He squeezed her hand and Buffy squeezed back as she met his eyes. It would be hard, but Obi-Wan would get through it, Buffy was sure.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Explain to us just what you thought you were doing?" Windu asked, looking at Obi-Wan. He was standing in the middle of council, going over everything that had happened on Aeten II and before that. Obi-Wan looked around the group of masters and took a deep breath. Just as he opened his mouth to reply, the doors to the council chambers opened and Buffy came striding in, looking, to the untrained eye, totally healthy.

"Elisa, what are you doing out of bed?" Obi-Wan asked and Buffy glared at him, they were going to have to have words about his mother hen act later.

"I'm fine," Buffy told him as she looked around at all the masters. Why these twelve guys unnerved Obi-Wan so much Buffy didn't think she'd ever know. But they didn't scare her.

"It was my fault, and I take full responsibility," she said, looking up at Obi-Wan, daring him to argue with her. "I talked him into not contacting you."

"As your master he-"

"Who are you kidding?" Buffy asked, turning to Windu. "Obi-Wan may be training me, and doing a wonderful job at that, but he is not my master. I'm too old for that. So, if there's to be any punishment for what happened, I'm taking it." She looked around the room, every single one of them was staring at her.

"Feeling better you are, it would seem." Yoda said and Buffy turned and looked at him. She was sure there was something like a smile on his face. "Well you did in your duel with Dooku, on the security discs we saw," Yoda explained at her questioning look. "Much you have learned." Buffy nodded her head as Yoda looked up at Obi-Wan who was still trying to take all this in.

"Foolish to go alone it was," Yoda said and Buffy nodded her head. For some reason Buffy didn't have any problem taking criticism from Yoda. "Aided you, we could have."

"And now we have lost Siri and-"

"Their fault, Siri's death is not." Yoda said interrupting one of the masters. Buffy was a little shocked; she felt responsible for Siri's death, and was surprised that Yoda disagreed. "Mourn for her we will. But happy for her we should be. Part of the force she is now." Buffy watched as the masters murmured and nodded their heads.

"Broken no rules you have," Yoda said, surprising both Buffy and Obi-Wan. "On a mission you were. Foolish and headstrong you were, but your choice to make it was."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said, a little shocked with herself. Of all the masters here, Yoda was the only one Buffy really felt any kind of loyalty to. She wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"You are dismissed," Windu said after a few moments of silence. Obi-Wan and Buffy bowed and walked out the doors. As soon as they were closed behind them, Obi-Wan turned to Buffy and opened his mouth.

"Obi-Wan, look I'm fine, ok? I don't need you hovering over me. I'm not made of glass, I didn't shatter. I can take care of myself. For the most part."

"He skewered you," Obi-Wan pointed out to Buffy, in case she'd missed it.

"And you got there just in time to keep him from killing me," Buffy assured him, placing her hand on his arm. "It was the will of the force," Buffy said, feeling a little silly, but it was beginning to ring true for her. In this world, things were ruled by the force. "You need to trust in that, and in me."

"I trust you," Obi-Wan said without a seconds pause and Buffy smiled at him, a bright sunny smile, one he hadn't seen in a while.

"Good," Buffy said, trying to keep her voice from squeaking.

-o-o-o-o-

A week later and Buffy was back to her normal self, for the most part. Her leg still twinged a little every once in a while and Obi-Wan still wouldn't train fully with her yet. But everything else was fine. Well, almost everything. There was something going on, something about Obi-Wan had changed. Buffy felt it almost as soon as she woke in the Bacta tank, but she couldn't place it. Something about him was different and it was starting to drive her nuts. He was avoiding her, and acting, well, weird around her. Finally after eating in the dining hall alone again for the second afternoon in a row Buffy decided she couldn't take it anymore. The door to their apartment went closed behind her and she locked it then turned and glared at Obi-Wan.

"What?" he asked, looking surprised by the look on her face. He set his cup of tea down and Buffy could see that he'd eaten lunch up here, again.

"That's what I'd like to know," Buffy said stalking towards him. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded, glaring up at him, now only a foot away from him.

"I don't know-"

"Don't give me that," Buffy told him, taking that last step so she was up in his face. "You've been so out there you might as well be living on another planet. You don't eat dinner with me anymore. You're distant, you-" She stopped short as a thought occurred to her and her face went pale. She stepped back and looked up at him. Could he blame her too? She knew she carried around the guilt that it was her fault Siri was gone, but did he think so too? Was that why-

"No!" Obi-Wan denied, stepping towards her. She looked up at him and sighed, she'd been projecting, damn this bond sometimes. "I could never, what happened to Siri, that wasn't your fault."

"But if we'd gotten help, if I hadn't insisted on-"

"No," Obi-Wan assured her softly, shaking his head as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "You told me, just a week ago; it was the will of the force. That isn't any less true here." Buffy nodded her head slowly, happy that at least one of them didn't blame her.

"So, if not that, then, what?" Buffy asked, totally lost now. What else would cause him to act so odd around her? Avoiding her whenever it was possible. "You've got to tell me Obi-Wan. This is driving me nuts. Did I do something wrong? Have I-"

Buffy blinked in shock when Obi-Wan pulled her up and towards him, his hands grasping her shoulders. His lips pressed firmly to hers. It was over just as fast as it happened and Buffy staggered back when Obi-Wan let her go. Had he just...Buffy raised her hand to her lips and touched her fingertips to them. She swallowed hard as she took a step towards him.

"Obi-Wan?" she whispered softly. She couldn't read anything on his face; he looked a little shocked himself at what he'd just done. She was only a few feet away and covered the distance quickly till she was again standing right in front of him. Was it possible that he felt the same way she did? She reached up and brushed his getting too long hair back out of his eyes, her hand resting on his cheek, she smiled when his head moved into her touch ever so slightly. She placed her other hand on his chest for balance and stood up onto her tippy toes and placed a feather light kiss on his lips. Buffy began to ease away from him but an arm wrapped around her waist pulling her to him. She smiled up at him, and ran her hand through his hair before she stood up on her toes again to kiss him, this time not so light. His arm tightened around her waist and his other hand went to the back of her neck.

Buffy sighed softly as Obi-Wan deepened the kiss. Her hand on his chest made its way so it was now wrapped around his shoulder while her other hand continued to play with the hair on the back of his neck. Buffy pulled and Obi-Wan followed and they both fell backwards landing on the couch behind them. Obi-Wan broke contact for a moment to smirk down at her. She'd moved the couch; it had not started out behind them. Buffy pulled him back down to her, a sly smile on her face. Buffy's heart was pounding under her chest, she was sure the whole world must be able to hear it. They broke apart when there was a loud knocking on their door.

"Ignore it," Buffy told him, trying to pull him back down.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin's voice was muffled a little on the other side of the door.

"Damn him," Buffy muttered as Obi-Wan began to sit up. He had a small smirk on his face but there was no huge shock factor; he didn't seem to regret their little make out session.

"Come in, Anakin," Obi-Wan said and Anakin laughed.

"It's locked," he said from the other side. Obi-Wan was sure that Anakin was perfectly capable of unlocking it, but he stood up and walked to the door and opened it anyway. Buffy pulled herself up off the couch and smiled at Anakin when he walked in. She was sure she knew just how she looked, seeing as Obi-Wan looked just about the same, rumpled and blushing; it looked good on him, Buffy decided.

Anakin only had to walk a few feet into the room before he stopped. He took in Buffy, sitting on the couch, and Obi-Wan, red faced and a little short of breath and his eyes went wide. Then his face broke out in a huge smile and he nodded his head.

"I just came to invite you two to dinner," Anakin said quickly, backing towards the door. "So, um...tonight, at our place." Anakin nodded his head, smiled and then turned and walked out the door. Obi-Wan looked over at Buffy and she smiled at him. He walked over and sat down next to her; he reached over and took her hand into his.

"Is this going to be a good talk or a bad talk?" Buffy asked, looking up at him. "Because if this is bad news we can just-"

"I love you." Obi-Wan interrupted her and her eyes went wide. And just like that everything changed. He loved her too, they loved each other. Buffy felt her world shift under her feet.

"Oh...oh...well." Buffy stammered and swallowed hard. "That's good news." She nodded her head and a smile broke out over her face. "I love you," she told him after another moment of silence. She looked away from him, looked around the room they were sitting in. The room in the middle of the Jedi temple, and everything shifted again.

"Now what do we do?" she asked, looking over at him then down to their clasped hands. "Because as I see it we have three options," Buffy said, letting go of his hand and standing. All she could possibly ever want was sitting in front of her now. A man she could love, could have a real life with, a breathing, heart beating man, and right now she could lose it all. With these words it could disappear. "We can ignore it, push it aside and finish this war." She was desperately afraid that was what he'd want to do. "We could hide it, keeping it from everyone. Or we tell them." Buffy knew he'd know she was talking about the council. "We do what Anakin did. We can still help in this war if we're not here." She looked him in the eyes and refused to look away first. "It's up to you Obi-Wan; I'll do anything you think is right." Obi-Wan nodded his head and stood up slowly. He too never broke eye contact as he stood and walked over to her.

"Once when I was young and foolish I let someone talk me out of love." He reached out and took her hand into his. "That is not going to happen again."

"So that rules out option one," Buffy said, looking down at their hands. Buffy wasn't sure if she could hide what she felt for Obi-Wan, she had had a hard time hiding it from _him_. And she wasn't sure she wanted to skulk around hiding, but she couldn't ask Obi-Wan to give this up, so she'd do whatever he asked.

"It rules them all out," Obi-Wan said, smiling down at her. "What we're going to do is go to them and tell them, and we're going to stay Jedi."

"Just like that, huh?" Buffy asked, smirking despite the sick feeling she was getting about being made to leave the temple.

"Just like that," he said, nodding his head. "They need us in this, and they know it. "We'll use it to our advantage."

"Obi-Wan, that's so devious of you," Buffy said smiling. She wanted to believe him, oh how badly she wanted it to be true. But there was a small part of her that was sure they were on their way out.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Anakin, do you know what they want?" Padme asked as she walked down the hall with her husband. They were headed towards the council chambers. The council had called both of them to a meeting half an hour ago, with no explanation as to why.

"I don't," Anakin said, shaking his head. He could feel something stirring though, something was going on. The doors to the chamber were open and Anakin and Padme both walked in, hand in hand. The doors closed behind them and Anakin had an odd panicking moment then Yoda smiled at them and the moment was gone.

"Welcome you to Council we do," Yoda said and Anakin bowed. Padme smiled at them and nodded her head. "In trouble you are not, relax young Skywalker," Yoda said and Padme chuckled lightly as some of the tension in Anakin drained away.

"Made a decision the council has," Yoda said, looking from Anakin to Padme. The rest of the council nodded their heads. Padme had met all of them once or twice in the last few years, and she liked most of them. Padme had a feeling she knew what they were going to tell them, and she was very happy for it.

"Dwindling our numbers are," Yoda said and Anakin nodded his head. "Costing us much this war is." Anakin looked around at all of the members' faces. They looked rather pleased with themselves, most of them anyway.

"We would like you to return to the Jedi order," Windu said and Anakin blinked in shock as he looked back at Windu. He was not a man for joking and yet Anakin was sure he must be jesting.

"I'm sorry, did I hear that right?" Anakin asked, looking around the room. Yoda nodded his head and Windu had what could have been called a smile. "But, I'm married," he said, holding up his hand to show them the ring, as if they weren't all aware that he was married.

"Aware of this we are," Yoda told him and there was a light chuckle from a few of the members. "Need you in this fight we will."

"Oh Annie!' Padme said, smiling up at him. "What?" she asked at the look on his face. "This is wonderful."

"We'd have to leave Naboo," Anakin said and Padme was touched, he was concerned for her. She reached up and ran her hand over his cheek.

"Oh Annie, I don't care, I can still do my work here," she said, smiling brightly at him. "You will always be a Jedi. Do it. I want this so badly for you."

"We won't live in the Temple," Anakin informed them, turning to look back at Yoda.

"Stay in the Senators' apartments, you will?" Yoda asked and Padme nodded her head as she squeezed Anakin's hand.

"Does Obi-Wan know about this?" Anakin asked, looking from Yoda to Windu.

"No." Windu said, shaking his head. "He was not here when this decision was made."

"Oh." Anakin said, nodding his head. He still wasn't sure what he'd walked into earlier, he hoped it was what he thought it was, but he couldn't be sure.

"Join us again, you will?" Yoda asked and Anakin smiled as he nodded his head. Yoda jumped down off of his seat and walked over to them. He stopped in front of the two of them with a sly smile on his face. The other masters all stood and formed a small circle around Anakin and Padme.

"We are all Jedi. The Force speaks through us. Through our actions, the Force proclaims itself and what is real. Today we are here to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed," Windu recited, a slight smile on his face. Yoda turned on his lightsaber and nodded at Anakin.

"Step forward," Yoda said and Anakin knelt down in front of Yoda. "Anakin, by the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, I dub thee, Jedi" Yoda mimicked, cutting Anakin's Padawan braid and Padme wiped a tear away. "Knight of the Republic. Again." Anakin and the rest of them chuckled as Anakin stood up.

"Take up your lightsaber, Anakin, Jedi Knight. And may the Force be with you," Yoda said and Padme stepped up next to Anakin wrapping her arms around him.

"Wait till we tell Obi-Wan and Elisa," Padme said, holding Anakin close. "They're going to be so excited!"

-o-o-o-o-o-

"We don't have to do this," Buffy told him as they walked down the hall towards the council chambers. Obi-Wan stopped and looked at her, his smile fading a little.

"You don't want to-"

"No," Buffy said, shaking her head. "I mean, I don't want you to give this up for me," she said and Obi-Wan smiled at her again.

"I'm not," he told her, taking her hand again.

"You seem so sure," Buffy said, still not even half as sure as he was. "I mean what about 'A Jedi Shall Not Know Anger. Nor Hatred. Nor Love,' I can't see them just ignoring that."

"It isn't that simple anymore," Obi-Wan said, stopping in front of the council doors. He looked a little confused for a moment. "Anakin is in there," he said, looking down at Buffy.

"Why?" she asked, looking at the door.

"I don't know," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well let's find out," Buffy said, as the doors opened and they walked in. Fourteen faces turned to look at them as they entered. Anakin wondered if he was the only one who noticed they were holding hands.

"Did we miss a party?' Buffy asked, smiling at Anakin. There was a new bright happiness rolling off of him in waves. Padme had tears in her eyes, happy tears Buffy was sure and Yoda seemed to know something he wasn't sharing, but that wasn't new.

"Anakin's been reinstated as a Jedi Knight!" Padme told them both, she was bursting with pride and Buffy's eyes went wide.

"But..." Buffy looked down at Padme's wedding band.

"They don't care," she said, sweeping in and pulling Buffy away from Obi-Wan. "We're going to live here on Coruscant, in the Senators' apartments."

"Wow," Buffy said, her head spinning. This was great news, for both of them. If the council didn't care that Anakin was married, if they wanted him that badly, maybe there _was_ hope for her and Obi-Wan.

"Something to say have you?" Buffy looked over at where Obi-Wan and Yoda were talking. Padme looked at Buffy, a little worried.

"Is something wrong?" she asked in a whisper.

"I don't know," Buffy whispered back as Obi-Wan knelt down next to Yoda.

"Elisa and I have discovered something Master Yoda," Obi-Wan told him and suddenly all eyes were on either her or him. Yoda nodded his head, leaning on his gimer stick, a smile on his face. Obi-Wan hadn't meant to do this in front of the whole council. Normally around this time Yoda was the only one in the chambers, meditating. But he was here now and he could feel Elisa's eyes on him; he'd say this in front of them, he had no qualms with it.

"I love her," Obi-Wan said, looking over his shoulder at Buffy. In all her life she had never heard sweeter words spoken. Yoda nodded his head as a dead silence fell over everyone.

"Yes, yes, and feel the same she does?" Yoda asked, looking up at Buffy.

"Yes," Buffy said, stepping forward a few steps. "I do."

"Jedi are not permitted love!" A voice cried out causing everyone to look at her. "This is ridiculous. Skywalker is bad enough. The codes are there for a reason, we cannot pick and choose which we will follow and which we will not!" Master Kuro cried out as she stepped forward.

"Look," Buffy said, her tone light; Kuro's eyes swept over to her. There was a look on her face akin to anger and Buffy smirked. "I didn't ask for this, it just happened. Why would I have these feelings if I wasn't meant to? The will of the force, you all say it, all the time. And yet you ignore it at every turn. If the force really is guiding our every move then I was meant to love Obi-Wan. Just as Anakin and Padme were meant to be together. How could it be anything else?"

"Well spoken," Yoda said, nodding his head as he walked back to his chair. Obi-Wan walked over to her and took her hand in his. "Changing, times are," Yoda said, pulling himself up and sitting down. The rest of the masters found their seats till Buffy, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme were the only ones standing. "Many changes we are to be faced with." He looked up at Buffy and she smiled at him. "Discuss this, the council will."

"For now, go to Naboo, help them pack, and see them safely back," Windu said and Buffy was sure she saw him smirk.

"Yes Master," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head with a slight bow. Buffy smiled and waved, sticking her tongue out at Kuro as she passed her. She snickered at the look of shock Obi-Wan gave her. She shrugged and then broke out in a huge smile. She placed her hand on Anakin's shoulder and looked up at him.

"Congratulations," she told him. He had a still slightly surprised smile on his face as he nodded his head. "So, dinner before we leave for Naboo?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head. Padme took Buffy's hand and slowed down a little, leaving about four feet between them and the boys.

"I'm happy for you," she told Buffy in a whisper she was sure both men could hear. "Both of you."

"Thank you," Buffy said, smiling at her. Buffy was really happy Padme was going to be living on Coruscant now; she wanted to get to know this woman better. She looked ahead of them to Anakin and Obi-Wan. She wanted to get to know Anakin better too. Because as far as she could see, she still had work to do.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Padme asked and Buffy laughed.

"Us, I'm sure," Buffy said, nodding her head. She definitely still had work, but she was sure she was on the right path now.

The End...for now

A/N- Ok, see I told you, longer chapy. I hope you all like it. It took me a while to get it all out on paper, er...computer screen. But it was fun! Let me know what you think, reviews will make Episode 3 come faster!


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